


Whumptober 2019

by GroveGrocer



Category: The Shadowhunter Chronicles - All Media Types
Genre: Abusive Relationships, Anxiety, Bad Parent Maryse Lightwood, Beating, Broken Bones, Caning, Captivity, Conditioning, Delirium, Depression, Dislocated joints, Drowning, Electrocution, Experimentation, Fever, Fist Fights, Good Parabatai Jace Wayland, Hallucinations, Homophobia, Infection, Isolation, Kinda, M/M, Nightmares, Panic Attacks, Parabatai Feels, Paralysis, Past Abuse, Past Torture, Protective Alec Lightwood, Protective Magnus Bane, Raphael and Rosa having a Family moment, Recovery, Rescue, Scars, Self Harm, Shock, Sick Alec Lightwood, Sickfic, Stabbing, Stitches, Touch-Starved, Trembling, Vomiting, Waterboarding, Whump, Whumptober, Whumptober 2019, broken ribs, drugged, he just beats the hell out of a punching bag, kind of, mentions of being drugged, numb, past abusive relationship, shackled, tags will be added as i update, themes of dementia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-02
Updated: 2019-10-31
Packaged: 2020-11-15 00:11:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 31
Words: 35,048
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20856914
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GroveGrocer/pseuds/GroveGrocer
Summary: A series of whump themed one shots, mostly centered around Malec but with the odd other character focus as well. There ended up being a couple of mini-series woven through this so those chapters are marked with a * and a +





	1. Shaky Hands - Day 1

He knew not to cry. Even through the hazy guise of pain, Alec knew. 

All the noise in the room had been muffled but over the ringing in his ears he could hear Jace, frantic. 

“... Ravener demon… Jumped between us… Alec?”

He wanted to open his eyes, he really did. He wanted to reassure Jace that he was still here. 

He wanted to cry. Shadowhunters didn’t cry. Not even when half their ribs were broken and their bones were sticking out through their chest. Not even when there was demon poison coursing through their injuries, barring them from the blissful, burning relief of an iratze. 

He felt tears beginning to slide down his face of their own accord and forced himself to breathe, even if each wheezy inhale made him feel like his chest was being ripped apart. He couldn’t cry. Shadowhunters didn’t cry. 

Alec heard his name but it was as though he were underwater with no way of knowing which way was up. He could sense the flurry of activity around him and suddenly there were hands all over his chest. 

He heard a pitiful whine - was that him? - as the pain seemed to come with a new fury and he tried to struggle. Anything to get away from the cold hands probing at his ribs and open wounds. 

“Stop, stop, please-” Alec realized he was begging. Shadowhunters didn’t beg either but he didn’t think he could stop if he tried. Everything was too overwhelming and if everyone would just stop touching him for a moment, maybe he could fall into blissful unconsciousness. 

He struggled with a new fury but more hands came down on him, forcing him still as they gripped around his wrists and legs. The pain was becoming worse so much worse as spots of light flickered from behind his closed eyes. Alec began to lose hope as exhaustion washed over him and he suddenly found he didn’t have it in him to try to get away. 

He felt himself began to drift as he was suddenly gripped with the feeling that he needed to remember what had happened and where he was. He had been with Isabelle? No, it was Jace. Jace had been distracted and the Ravener was lunging for him. Alec had thrown himself between them. He was comforted by the knowledge. Even if every fiber of his body was screaming with fire and he was going to die right here - wherever he was - he’d protected Jace. 

A sense of calm washed over him and he felt the first inklings of consciousness slipping away from him as he suddenly felt lighter. The hands were off him. He was hurting but it felt distant. 

It was in that moment that what felt like an electrical current shot through his body and his eyes suddenly snapped open, hyper aware of every fluorescent light and person around him, and he screamed. A sharp pain shot through every nerve in his body and made his back arch involuntarily, leaving him weakly moaning as it finally left. As he came back to this plane of reality, suddenly his pain didn’t seem quite so unbearable, not compared to that. In fact, it almost felt like it was abating. 

Alec slowly began to come to, focusing on each sense individually as he tried to understand what was happening. Too bright fluorescents. An antiseptic smell. Cold metal under him. The infirmary? 

His hands flexed weakly against the surgical table but found nothing to hold on to. This distressed Alec more than it probably should have but suddenly a familiar hand gripped his and Alec realized how badly his hands were trembling. 

“Easy, darling, breathe. Don’t try to move too much.”

Magnus? 

His heart was still clamoring in his chest but the pain had dulled to a manageable ache and he used his meagre store of energy to turn his head. He was met with Magnus’ warm, brown eyes, filled with a deep worry that didn’t match the comforting smile on his face. 

“You’re in shock but everything’s going to be alright. They called me just in time.” 

Alec felt hot tears spilling down his face as he realized that it wasn’t just his hands that were shaking. His whole body was quivering and his teeth chattered as he tried to speak. Nothing came out and he squeezed Magnus’ hand instead, not having it in him to do anything else, and watched as Magnus gently brought his head down and kissed the back of Alec’s hand.

“You poor thing, you’re shaking like a leaf. I’ve healed you best I can but it’ll take a bit for your body to realize it. You’ll be alright.”

Alec wheezed out a breath and willed himself not to look down to where his ribs had previously stuck out of his skin. Magnus must have noticed because he made it easy as he reached up with the hand not holding Alec’s to brush away his sweaty hair, distracting him.

“I’ll be mad at you for sacrificing yourself later but right now, try to rest. You’ve been through a lot.” 

Alec tried to smile, anything to abate the worried furrow of Magnus’ brow, and succeeded slightly. A ghost of a smile crossed his lips and Magnus returned it. His hands were trembling but the pain was only a dull ache and Magnus was here. Magnus was right here.


	2. *Touch Starved - Day 2 alt. prompt

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I'm having a lot of fun with whumptober especially now that I can look at a computer again. Don't get concussions. But I'm behind on school and all so I'll probably only be updating this for a bit. We'll come back to Imitation is the Sincerest Form of Flattery soon enough.

Magnus’ couldn’t help but smile as he felt a pair of arms wrap around his middle and warmth seeped against his back as Alec pressed against him. He paused from where he had been running his fingers over the clothes hanging in his closet, choosing what to wear the following day. 

He heard Alec murmur against his shoulder, “Is this alright?”

Magnus felt his heart sink at Alec’s tone. Before what happened, Alec never would have asked. Before, Alec never would have spoken in that hesitant, anxious tone. 

He turned in Alec’s arms and wrapped himself around his Shadowhunter. “Of course, darling.” He returned, pressing his nose into Alec’s freshly showered hair and inhaled the smell of his own shampoo. He may have bought Alec his own separate shampoo and conditioner after finding out Alec considered three-in-one a ‘time saver’ and an ‘investment’ but he didn’t mind that he still used Magnus’. Alec smelled like a bouquet in the sun. 

Magnus’ heart clenched in anxious anticipation but relaxed into Alec’s arms. Maybe he wouldn’t say it this time. Maybe the habit was finally beginning to break.

It was almost inaudible but Magnus’ stomach still sunk like a stone as he heard Alec whisper, “Thank you, Sir.” 

He felt his eyes involuntarily prick with tears but dried them by pressing his face into Alec’s shirt. “You know you don’t need to say that anymore, sweetheart.”

Alec was quiet but held on tighter, as though afraid Magnus would push him away, and fisted the back of Magnus’ shirt.

“I won’t leave, you know that.” Magnus kissed Alec’s cheek and let him duck his head against Magnus’ neck. “You’re home.”

Magnus wasn’t sure what was worse. When Alec first came home, he wouldn’t let anyone near him for two weeks but after leaving the hospital, it was like a switch had been flipped and Alec couldn’t bear to be apart from Magnus even for a few minutes. 

Magnus felt guilty at the flush of pleasure that spread through him every time Alec wrapped him in a tight embrace. They hadn’t seen each other in months and Alec’s distrust of touch for weeks after meant that Magnus was just as desperate for hugs and contact as Alec. Yet, each time Alec pressed against him, he felt terrible for enjoying it. Alec was hurting and his desperation for touch was just an outward manifestation of it. Magnus shouldn’t enjoy it. 

The caveat to Alec’s needy desperation was that the touch had to be clothed. In the beginning, Magnus hadn’t realized and had gently pushed his fingers up the back of Alec’s shirt to loosely skim over his spine in a familiar gesture that used to bring him comfort. 

He had expected the raised scarring crisscrossing his skin but it still cut into him like a knife. He’d seen the full extent of Alec’s scarring when they brought him to the hospital, unconscious, gaunt, and naked save for Jace’s jacket thrown across him. Touching it brought him a different level of nausea. He could never be disgusted with Alexander, but the thought of someone putting him through so much made his stomach roll. 

He didn’t have long to dwell on it as Alec flinched away like he’d been shocked and spent the rest of the night nervously averting his eyes and staying as far away from Magnus as possible. It was like he’d reverted to how he felt in the hospital. Alec couldn’t even bear to sleep in the same bed that night, anxiously staring at the ground as he asked to use the guest room and looking as though he might burst into tears if Magnus responded in anything other than a gentle whisper. 

Magnus gently ran his fingers up and down Alec’s back, giving him the positive touch he needed despite having only been seperated long enough to shower. He knew they’d likely head to bed soon and resume a similar position but that was alright. He’d give Alec whatever he needed to feel better. Even if it made him feel like all the breath had been taken from his lungs when Alec thanked him for acts of basic decency or called him honorifics. 

“Are you ready for bed?” Magnus finally asked, stroking through Alec’s loosely drying hair. 

“Just another minute… please, if that’s alright with you, Sir.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't forget to leave a comment! If you want to see anything particular out of one of the prompts, drop me a request!


	3. *Delirium - Day 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this ended up being a sort of continuation of Day 2 but its also been a scene I've been thinking about for a while and actually almost ended up in Imitation. Hope you like it!

Alec had barely been home for a week when it began. Shadowhunters didn’t get sick but Isabelle said that his body had been under so much stress for so long and now that it could relax, he fell ill. 

Magnus went to sleep in a familiar position. Alec was wrapped snugly in his arms and their legs tangled together. He was still in a bit of a shock at Alec’s sudden change in behavior. Only a week ago he would shrink away from anyone who approached him and tremble when doctors touched him and now, it was as if he would die if not in constant contact with Magnus. When they fell asleep together like this, it was almost easy to pretend everything was normal. Alec’s head was tucked against Magnus’ chest and they fit together like Raziel had built them for the expressed purpose of being pressed against each other. 

Falling asleep was the easy part though. Feigning normalcy grew significantly harder when Magnus would wake to Alec trembling through a nightmare, tears streaming down his face and afraid to make a noise, even in sleep. The seraph blade that had become a constant presence on Alec’s person mocked him. It glinted at him from their bedside at night, laughing at Magnus. 

_ You think you can just pretend everything is fine?  _

But when Magnus closed his eyes, reveling in Alec’s presence, all was well. 

He hadn’t expected to sleep through the night. They never did anymore. He had expected to wake to Alec’s body quivering violently against his own, his nightshirt dampened with tears where Alec was pressed against him, sweating from the effort of staying quiet and still so that whatever haunted him wouldn’t hurt him. 

He woke up alone. At first, Magnus didn’t even register the problem. He instinctively reached out, swiping at the bed to find Alec and pull him closer, but only found empty, warm sheets. He relaxed, thinking that maybe Alec had just gone to the bathroom, and was nearly asleep when his eyes suddenly snapped open and reality came back to him. Alec was gone. The seraph blade was gone.  _ Alec was gone _ . 

He frantically threw the sheets off himself and scrambled up, still too disoriented from sleep to act. It was then that he heard the awful noise coming from the bathroom. 

It cleared his mind to have a clear plan of action and Magnus hurried towards the noise, finding the door ajar and Alec knelt in front of the toilet, retching, with a seraph blade glowing on the floor next to him. 

Magnus’ eyes softened as he took a step inside the room. Alec had stopped throwing up and was left heaving for breath, forehead resting against his crossed arms and leaning heavily against the toilet. 

“Alexander?” He asked quietly, taking another slow step forward. 

Alec hadn’t noticed his presence but at that moment his head snapped up and a look of horror crossed his expression as he scrambled to his feet, seraph blade in hand and pointed aggressively at Magnus. 

Alec’s eyes were hazy and unfocused and he stumbled as he stood, leaning slightly against the wall as he struggled to keep himself upright. His grey nightshirt was stained from where he hadn’t made it to the bathroom in time and soaked in sweat. Alec was staring at him with the same expression Magnus had seen him wear into battle but instead of his usual righteous fury, he looked… scared. 

The blade shook in Alec’s hand as he glanced anxiously from Magnus to the door and back to Magnus. “You can’t… Stay back.” Alec’s words lacked any bite but the fear in them made Magnus’ heartache. “Leave me alone.” They sounded more like a plea than a command. 

Magnus’s heart hurt as he felt sudden deja vu of Alec in a hospital bed, shrinking back as he begged Magnus not to touch him, and raised his hands to show that he didn’t have a weapon, doing his best to move slowly so Alec wouldn’t perceive him as a threat. Magnus watched the blade wearily. Alec may have been delirious but he was still a terrified and highly trained soldier wielding a dangerous weapon. “I’m not going to hurt you, sweetheart.” Magnus murmured, hesitantly taking another step forward. 

This was the wrong move as Alec instinctively stepped back, pressing against the wall behind him as the desperation on his face grew. “I said stay back.” His voice sounded even less confident and had begun to waver. “Sir.” He added, quietly, as a rushed afterthought.

“Darling, I-” Magnus was cut off as Alec suddenly turned a ghostly shade and collapsed back onto his knees, blade clattering to the ground as he started to retch once more. 

Magnus took advantage of this and snapped his fingers, sending the seraph blade away to the living room. Alec heaved for a few more minutes and Magnus winced sympathetically as he heard Alec start to dry heave. Magnus wanted nothing more than to rush forward and push aside Alec’s damp hair and rub his back but he knew the touch wouldn’t be appreciated. Still, it had been a hard transition to go from not being allowed to touch his husband to being stuck together twenty-four seven and the sudden regression was just as difficult. 

Eventually, Alec quieted and his head dropped to rest against his arms once more as he gasped for air. Tears had begun to stream down his face from the effort of throwing up but he didn’t move to wipe them away, looking utterly exhausted. Alec didn’t seem to notice that his weapon was gone and he didn’t even particularly seem to notice that Magnus was still standing in the doorway. 

Magnus stood still, unsure of what to do but deciding that letting Alec have a moment to recover was likely the best option. Even from a few feet away, he could see the red pinpricks of blood vessels, burst from the effort of throwing up, on Alec’s unusually pale, waxy face. 

He didn’t think he could feel worse for Alec until he heard Alec begin to plead once more, “Please, Sir, don’t. I can’t right now, please.” His tone was weak and desperate, words cracking through a hoarse voice. He didn’t turn his head and Magnus wasn’t sure if it was from exhaustion or fear. 

Magnus began to move forward, keeping his motions slow and nonthreatening, murmuring all the while, “It’s alright, darling, I’d never hurt you. We’re going to get you cleaned up and back in bed, alright, sweetheart?” He slowly knelt down by Alec, who squeezed his eyes shut and trembled as Magnus got closer. He assumed Alec was feverish but confirmed it by reaching out and brushing his fingers against the exposed part of Alec’s cheek. 

“You poor thing, you’re really sick,” Magnus spoke softly, brows furrowing as Alec made a small, fearful noise as he was touched before biting his lip to silence himself. He wiggled his hand and a glass filled with a sports drink appeared in it and he held it towards Alec, offering, “Here, love, you ought to drink this. It’ll make you feel better.” 

At being offering the bright blue drink, Alec suddenly started to cry in earnest, startling Magnus into pulling back his offering as desperate pleas fell from Alec’s lips, “Please, I’ll be good, I- I don’t need it, I’m sorry, Sir, I’m- I’m sorry.” He hiccuped through words, curling into himself and still refusing to look at Magnus. 

Magnus was taken aback at the sudden tears, unsure of what to say or do. They still didn’t fully know what had happened to Alec in the months he had been missing and Alec certainly wasn’t going to divulge the information. They were still learning what upset him, and it seemed that the drink had ticked the box. 

It was times like this when Magnus wished he had Catarina’s skill in magical healing. It was a delicate art that easily went wrong. One could try to heal a broken bone and end up fusing the patient’s skeleton. But he was desperate. 

He placed the drink on the ground and reached forward, trying to ignore Alec’s hard flinch as Magnus gently tilted his head up and placed a hand on his burning forehead. The touch silenced Alec and, while he was still sobbing weakly, he was quiet, eyes still squeezed shut. 

Magnus let out a breath and closed his eyes as well, focusing on pushing just a bit of magic into Alec, just enough to reach out and bring his temperature down. 

It took longer than it should have. Magnus felt bad for dragging out what was so clearly upsetting Alec but he worked incrementally, afraid to do too much too fast. Alec’s temperature remained elevated but it was within a more reasonable range, and Magnus watched carefully as he slowly blinked open eyes that were teary but focused. 

“Magnus,” Alec whimpered out, slumping forward and letting Magnus catch him. 

Relief spread through Magnus like a hot drink on a cold day. “You’re alright,” He whispered, not sure which of them he was comforting. Alec was still trembling but not nearly as bad as before, now more so out of exertion than fear. 

They remained like that for a bit, Magnus knelt on the cool tile with Alec slouched against him, barely able to keep his own weight up. 

“Do you think you can drink something? You just lost a lot of fluids.” Magnus stroked his hair and back, grateful that his touch was welcome once more. 

He felt Alec give a tiny nod and helped him sit more or less upright, leaning against the cabinets as well as Magnus. 

“It’s just a drink, right?” Alec asked nervously, glancing up at Magnus with painfully trusting but hesitant eyes. 

“It’s just a drink, sweetheart.” Magnus tried to smile. 

_ What did they do to you? _

Eventually, Alec got the fluids and kept them down long enough that Magnus felt it was alright to take him back to bed. Alec may have been back with them for weeks at that point but he was still far too light when Magnus picked him up and set him carefully back in the bed. 

He conjured a bottle of ibuprofen and offered some to Alec, “I can only keep your fever down so much with magic. We can ask someone from the Institute to come tomorrow but for now, would you take these to keep it down?” 

Magnus saw the flicker of anxiety cross Alec’s face but he was obviously too exhausted to fight it, accepting the pills and swallowing them down. This made Magnus feel more guilty than it should have. He could have given Alec anything and he was too exhausted and conditioned to not take it. 

Luckily, Alec was asleep instantly, and Magnus soon curled back around him. Alec’s elevated body heat made Magnus start sweating nearly immediately but he knew Alec would appreciate him being close when he woke up. 

He tried not to think about the morning or the inevitable times he would wake up to darkness and a trembling body against his own. For now, everything was alright. Everything was normal. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't forget to comment! And again, I'm down for requests surrounding whumptober prompts :)


	4. Lost - Day 4 alt. prompt

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually wrote this as a gift for a friend's birthday but I thought it fit under an alternate prompt for today plus I don't have time to write two one-shots today so here are some Raphael rights because honestly? He deserved better. I hope you guys like this since not only is it about Raphael but its also a lot less literal with the use of the prompt.

The sky was clear. Too clear. 

Perhaps mundanes watched him as he strolled through the park and found it unusual that a teenager wore a three-piece suit, blackout glasses, and carried a dark umbrella. Perhaps they found it odd that he was carrying a plastic container, it’s contents obscured with steam rising from the tamales inside and clinging to the walls. Perhaps they looked right past him. 

Raphael wouldn’t have noticed. 

He saw them gathered in the distance, under the largest oak tree just past the rock shaped like an inverted South America where small children clambered. He was glad to see a gaggle of preschoolers out. Rosa had always liked children. 

Raphael walked leisurely. It was not that he didn’t want to see her, just that he needed to prepare himself. It had gotten easier over the years, to expect being a stranger, but it hadn’t gotten easier to face it. He wanted to see her, nonetheless. He did. 

He arrived eventually, only to be greeted warmly by one of the coordinators as she took the plastic container from him. She was entirely too friendly but at least she didn’t hug him anymore. 

“-and we’re down some volunteers because there’s a flu going around the Bern’s household so Annie and Jared aren’t here but I’m so glad you are! I’m sure you want to hear about Rosa. I know she’s your favorite but don’t worry I won’t tell the others. You two are a pair of old souls that connected, huh? Anyway, Rosa’s been doing well, she’s taken up doing puzzles now that we got a little extra funding from that anonymous donor and-” 

Raphael tuned out the middle-aged, blonde lady and wondered briefly how the senior residents put up with her chattering. Rosa seemed to enjoy her. She called her ‘a joy.’ As for the anonymous donation, well, Camille wouldn’t notice a few hundred dollars. Perhaps if she wanted a bigger say in handling their funds, she should stick around more often instead of jetting to India or Paris or- 

Not now. Not here. 

Here he was Raphael Santiago, the do-gooder. Not the leader of the Brooklyn vampire clan. Here there are no politics. There are no irritating, ungrateful blonde Shadowhunters who try to murder you despite you being nothing but helpful to them if a bit abrasive. There are certainly no fledgling traitors who adopt said Shadowhunters. 

The woman had finally stopped talking and was reaching out to lovingly pat him on the shoulder but he smoothly stepped away, giving her a curt nod before walking over to where he spotted Rosa sitting on a bench. He almost shared her smile as he noticed her staring off at the trees where a gaggle of children, too young for school, were scrambling through its branches. 

As he took a seat next to her, she spoke in the same gentle tone she had for seventy years. Raphael thought that perhaps if he closed his eyes, he could almost imagine that they were teenagers once more. 

“How I loved to climb trees as a child.”

Raphael glanced over to where his sister was staring wistfully into the park. She could have been anyone’s grandmother. Even after so many years, the thought rubbed him the wrong way, despite the fact that he would have shared a similar fate had he had just a shred more self-preservation as a teenager. 

“That tree looks perfect for climbing in but unfortunately, I’m too old for that nevermind that my suit is far too nice.” Raphael quipped in reply. 

“Dear, if either of us is too old to climb a tree, it is not the teenager.” Rosa laughed, melodic as always, like a songbird. She turned to look at him fondly but it was an expression one gives to a stranger you share a moment within a grocery store, both laughing over a giggling baby or a cashier’s joke. 

As she turned, the sun glinted against the crucifix hanging from a thin gold chain against her neck, resting against skin darkened and lined with age, twin to the one pressed against a patch of twisted scarring on Raphael’s chest under his shirt. Raphael’s incisors itched at the sight but it’s presence didn’t burn him as it once had. 

“Your crucifix is beautiful.” He said, looking back to the children. 

Rosa smiled and reached a hand up to touch it, “Thank you, dear. I have had it for longer than you’ve been alive. My brother…” She paused, still smiling but fainter now, staring off into the distance as though the trees would give her what she was searching for. “My mother gave my brother and I matching ones.” Her final sentence was softer than the rest as she fingered the charm. 

A slight, wry smile appeared of its own volition on Raphael’s face. “My mother gave me mine as well.” 

Rosa brightened at this but remained silent for a moment before momentarily turning back to him. “I hope to see you here again. It makes an old broad’s day when such a lovely young man joins her for a chat. I have no family to visit anymore but sometimes when we are in the park the little one’s playing will come to ask for a tamale or a cookie and stay for a story. What was your name again, dear?” 

He offered the same, slight, ironic smile as she looked at him. “I’d be honored if you’d have me next week. My name is Raphael.”   
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't forget to comment! :)


	5. *Bound - Day 5 Alt. Prompt

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not as happy with this one as the rest but today was insanely busy and I'm kinda proud that I had time to write this at all. Anyway, it's another continuation of the mini series from days 2 and 3. I hope you like it!

Alec wasn’t sure what was happening. 

His body  _ ached _ and the sharp, searing pain was the only thing he could really be sure of. 

He’d been in that cold, dark room for so long and then suddenly the door had opened and brought light with it. 

Sir never picked him up. Why would he pick him up? Was he being picked up? 

He’d been hallucinating about Jace and Isabelle and this time it had been so real when it felt like he’d been scooped off the cold concrete, that maybe they were finally there to take him away. Alec wouldn’t have normally allowed himself to sink into such a fantasy but it had been bad yesterday. No.  _ He’d _ been bad yesterday and that’s why he was in pain. He’d deserved the lashes. All thirty of them. 

But this time, just this once, he was hurting so much and so Alec let himself fantasize about being picked up and carried away as he felt his head grow lighter and darkness replaced the pain. 

He woke to a harsh light, painful on his eyes after so long in the darkness. 

Alec barely had time to recognize the sudden change in his environment when he realized. 

His arms felt impossibly lighter than usual. 

Almost as if there were no chains on them. 

Almost as if there was nothing binding him to the wall. 

He found himself on his stomach. In a bed? Why was he in a bed? Alec glanced around anxiously but quickly realized he couldn’t see anything but the white wall in front of him from his current vantage point. 

_ Think, think, think. _

He was in a new place. This could be very, very bad. Sir had never brought him out of the cell. He’d bled, slept, and lived in that cell. 

Alec had just forced down the beginnings of panic when he heard a door open and he could do nothing to keep his body from going cold with fear. 

“Mr. Lightwood, are you awake?” A feminine voice called from behind him. 

Mr. Lightwood? 

Footsteps slowly approached him and he felt his hands tremble. Sir didn’t call him Mr. Lightwood and he hadn’t seen or heard a person other than Sir in… a very long time. Then who was this? 

His hands weren’t bound. 

Alec flexed his hands once, twice, and then the woman was next to him. A hand was placed gently on his lower arm and his body screamed in protest as he grabbed the arm that touched him and used it as leverage to pull himself into a kneeling position. There was a harsh clatter as a clipboard the lady was holding fell to the ground and Alec swung with his free hand to punch her but missed, weakened with pain and hunger. 

The woman screamed as he grabbed her and suddenly people flooded into the room. Before he knew what was happening, hands were grabbing at him and Alec yelled in pain as his aching body was forced back against the bed on his stomach. 

He struggled as hard as he could, feeling what he could only assume was blood drip from freshly opened lashes on his back, but it was for naught as he was easily overpowered and found himself completely unable to move from the hands keeping down his limbs. 

A sob involuntarily left his mouth as the pain crescendoed to an agony and he realized that he’d been bad, he’d been so bad and whatever was going to happen next was going to  _ hurt  _ and he couldn’t take anymore,  _ please don’t touch him,  _ he’d be good. 

Alec didn’t realize he’d been pleading out loud until he felt the telltale press of a needle against the crook of his arm and he couldn’t stop the tears and weak whimper that escaped him as he went limp, accepting the inevitable. 

He was steeling himself for his world to become a haze of pain and distortion when a booming voice broke through the room. 

“Stop, get off of him! Can’t you see he’s just scared?”

Alec froze, his eyes snapping open as he frantically tried to see out of the corner of his vision. The voice was so familiar but it couldn’t possibly be. He’d hallucinated this moment so many times when the night found him sobbing silently, nursing a deep, bleeding injury close to his chest as he tried to fight of the insatiable hunger, thirst, and exhaustion that had become his constant companions as the cold seeped in through his marred skin and he was sure he wouldn’t survive. Not this time. 

But the arms holding him disappeared. 

A hallucination couldn’t do that. 

Alec remained frozen, too afraid to make any sort of movement, as a familiar face suddenly appeared in his field of vision as Magnus crouched by the head of his bed. 

“Hey, sweetheart, everything’s alright. You’re safe now, love.” 

Alec’s whole body trembled as he struggled to understand what was going on and whether this could possibly be a dream or a drug induced hallucination. 

He was suddenly snapped from this as Magnus reached up a hand to touch Alec’s shoulder but before it could make contact, Alec darted up into the kneeling position he’d been in earlier. He’d already expended all his energy on the first motion, though, and he couldn’t help it as he groaned and slumped forward, barely able to hold himself up. 

“Don’t touch me.” He rasped desperately, wrapping his arms against his stomach as he tried to remain sitting up, doing his best to ignore the burn of his raw wrists as they pressed against him. 

He wasn’t bound anymore. 

Magnus looked hurt and briefly, Alec felt guilty. Was it Magnus? He shouldn’t make Magnus feel bad. He couldn’t be bad. He was punished if he was bad. But the desperation to not be touched outweighed his anxious thoughts and he stared at Magnus, terrified but too exhausted and too afraid of the consequences to move. 

“Easy, love. I won’t touch you and neither will anyone else right now. But you’re really hurt and you need to lay back down.” Magnus had raised his hands as if to demonstrate that he was innocent and nonthreatening but the sight didn’t calm Alec. 

Alec didn’t speak, completely disoriented and terrified out of his mind. He was hurting so much and he couldn’t even tell where he was injured at this point because the pain seemed to radiate from the inside out. 

“It’s alright, Alexander. You’re safe at the Institute and no one’s going to touch or hurt you. Just lay back down, darling.” 

Alec glanced around anxiously. The woman had been a nurse and the hands that had held him down must have been the other nurses and doctors that filled the room, staring at him like he was a feral animal. 

Slowly, he gave a small nod. The Institute. Not the cell. This couldn’t be a hallucination, everything was so  _ real _ . These were doctors. Not Sir. 

Moving as if afraid to make a noise, Alec slowly returned to lying on his stomach. Magnus smiled weakly and praised, “That’s good, thank you sweetheart. The nurses and I are going to leave so you can have a moment to yourself but we’ll be back in a few minutes, alright? Is that ok? I know you don’t want to be touched but you’re bleeding and your back is infected. Catarina is here so no one’s going to touch you, she’s just going to do some magic and make you feel better.” 

Alec returned a small nod, still trembling with anxiety as he struggled to ground himself to reality. 

Magnus nodded in return and gave him another smile before slowly backing up and leaving the room. Alec heard a herd of footsteps and suddenly the door shut and all was quiet. 

The Institute. 

His hands weren’t bound. 

_ Magnus.  _

Alec pressed his face into the pillow and was still for a minute, feeling the sheets against his skin and the lack of a chill in the air and trying to ground himself to reality. 

The Institute. 

It hurt his back and the lashes that curled around his shoulders towards his chest but he couldn’t hold it back as he slowly began to sob. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't forget to comment!


	6. +Dragged Away - Day 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Took inspiration from a prompt I've had saved for a while for his one. Hope you like it!  
Edit: I wrote the wrong title oops

Alec wasn’t sure how many days had passed since Magnus had been taken away from him. Their small cell held no windows and his only indication of time was his increasingly inaccurate internal clock. 

Perhaps it had been three. 

Alec had stopped sleeping regular hours when Magnus was thrown into the cell, unresponsive and bleeding, finally returned after hours of painful silence. He’d stopped sleeping enough hours to remain fully alert when Magnus had begun that rattling cough. He’d stopped sleeping nearly completely when each of Magnus’ labored, wheezing breaths seemed as though they might be his last if Alec wasn’t awake to gently press on his chest, just enough to remind him to keep on. 

Perhaps it had been four. 

They’d discovered early on that their captors had rendered Magnus’ magic void in their cell. There wasn’t much point in capturing warlocks if your cells couldn’t hold them. There wasn’t much point in studying warlocks if you couldn’t keep them contained. 

Alec hadn’t been sure that whatever Magnus had come down with hadn’t been given to him by the scientists, if you could call them that. Warlocks didn’t get sick often so it would be a prime topic of study. However, when a man in a lab coat appeared in front of their cell one morning - was it morning? - and his expression twisted with a shocked disgust as Magnus heaved through a coughing fit that left him barely able to sit up, spitting copious amounts of mucus onto the floor as it loosened from his lungs, Alec realized they weren’t the culprits. Not directly at least. The terrible conditions had combined with the draining of Magnus’ magic to leave him terribly, terribly ill. 

Perhaps it had been five. 

They’d still dragged him away that morning and returned him late in the night, - had it been night? - trembling with fever and in too much pain to even be able to tell Alec what had happened to him. 

Alec had prayed to every deity he could think of but Magnus’ condition continued to worsen until one day he didn’t even open his eyes when Alec tried to shake him awake. The men in lab coats would become angry when Magnus wasn’t awake by the time they came down to take him away for the day's trials and on those days he was always returned far worse for the wear. Alec had learned quickly that the guards would make rounds about an hour before the scientists would come. He was always awake when the guards would stalk past their cell, sneering at him as they passed, so he used this to their advantage and made sure to wake Magnus up every morning. They would have an hour to themselves, Magnus sitting in Alec’s lap as Alec murmured and soothed, offering all the comfort he could before the day began. 

But that morning, Alec wasn’t greeted with the smile that Magnus did his best to muster every morning. Magnus didn’t reach up to brush his fingers over Alec’s cheek and ask if he had slept even though they both knew the answer. Magnus didn’t even open his eyes, no matter how frantically Alec shook his arm. The backs of his eyes pricked with tears when he finally caught a glimpse of Magnus’ cat eyes. 

The relief was brief and Magnus’ eyes soon slid shut once more as he struggled to take a deep breath, only succeeding in a wet, rattling cough instead. 

“Sit up, sweetheart, please. It’ll help clear your lungs.” Alec had murmured, heart aching as Magnus whined pitifully as Alec manipulated him into a seated position. Magnus had coughed hard, spitting up the green mucus, and slouched against Alec. Alec had brushed his fingers through Magnus hot, too hot scalp and kissed his sweaty forehead, pleading with Raziel that they would leave him alone today. Just for today. 

Alec fell into the familiar pattern of whispering to Magnus that everything would be alright, he’d return soon enough and Alec would be right here to hold him and do his best to fix whatever had been done to him that day. 

But soon enough, the man in the lab coat appeared. Alec hadn’t been sure if Magnus had fallen back asleep or was simply gathering his energy to face whatever was in store for him but when he asked Magnus to wake up, he found no response. Alec shook Magnus’ shoulder, fear beginning to crawl up his throat, but Magnus was completely limp against him, unresponsive. 

“Get him up already, we have a schedule to upkeep.” The man snapped as he checked his watch. 

Alec didn’t even look at him as he continued to try to wake him, growing more panicked by the second. “Magnus, please wake up darling, you need to wake up, it’s time to go. I’m sorry, please. You need to wake up.” 

The man had gone quiet as he realized what was happening and pulled a radio out of one of his pockets, speaking into it in a low tone that Alec was too frantic to overhear. Momentarily, a man and a woman in identical lab-coats appeared and spoke to the man in hushed tones, occasionally glancing back to where Alec was near tears trying to wake up his beloved. 

Alec was almost startled to hear the door to the cell open but he cradled Magnus protectively against his chest. “You can’t take him, not today. He’s no use to you. He’s too sick,” Alec said, trying to keep his voice from wavering. 

“Which is precisely why we should take him. Do you think he’ll heal in the hands of a Shadowhunter in these conditions?” The woman raised an eyebrow as two of the guards stepped into their cell, approaching far too quickly for Alec’s liking. 

“You won’t heal him,” Alec hissed back, pressing Magnus closer to him. “All you care about is your experiments.” 

“And you think you will?” The woman quipped, but Alec didn’t reply as one of the guards grabbed his arms and the other grabbed Magnus. It all happened far too quickly for Alec, exhausted and malnourished as he was, to fight back. 

The guard threw Magnus over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and Alec yelled as the guard restraining him suddenly shoved him into the wall. His head hit the concrete with a sickening crack and he was too disoriented to intervene as the door to the cell slammed shut and he was suddenly alone. 

Alec scrambled up, swaying on his feet as he rushed to the cell bars, pressing against them as he watched them retreat down the hall. “Magnus, please, Magnus!” He yelled after them in desperation. 

He swore he saw Magnus pick his head up, just for a moment, before they disappeared around a corner. 

Perhaps it had been six days ago. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't forget to comment!


	7. *Isolation - Day 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! This is something I probably wouldn't have normally written but I like how it came out. Hope you liked it!

_ Sorry, one of the people that was supposed to be on patrol said they won’t be able to make it tonight so I have to fill in. Don’t wait up.  _

Alec’s fingers hovered over the screen before adding  _ Love you  _ and hitting send. Magnus replied almost immediately with a sad face and a question of why no one else could fill in and wasn’t he still supposed to be taking it easy? 

Alec didn’t reply, sighing as his phone went dark and he pushed it across the desk, folding his arms and resting his head on them. 

He was supposed to be taking it easy. He’d only been home for two months. He still flinched at unexpected touch. 

He was begrudgingly allowed to begin easing into work at the Institute. Magnus had protested loudly, saying that he needed more time to heal but Alec couldn’t take being at home any longer. He needed to get back to work. But then he got to work and instead of the Head of the Institute, he was the abused Shadowhunter who flinched away from friendly gestures and wore long sleeves through the dead of summer to hide the scars snaking up past his neckline and cuffs. 

He didn’t remember when he started lying to Magnus and his family. To Magnus, he was on patrol. To his family, he was headed home. But he remained seated at his desk, struggling to breathe through the fear clawing up his throat. 

He had to pretend everything was fine so everyone would stop looking at him like that. Like a frightened animal. How could they be blamed, though, when every hand raised in greeting made him wince away from an expected blow and every voice raised in authority made him tremble?

How was he supposed to pretend everything was fine when everything reminded him of Sir?

He couldn’t stand to go back to Magnus right now. Not when he couldn’t breathe and he would look at him with that sad expression and murmur that everything was alright because it wasn’t alright nothing was alright. 

He couldn’t stand to look at his family. He’d picked up the habit of blocking out Jace through their bond when he first came home. Jace didn’t need to be weighted down with the fear and pain that had plagued Alec for so long. He still didn’t need it. Jace had bigger problems than Alec struggling to cope with regular life. 

He forced himself to breathe, taking deep, shaky inhales and releasing them. He felt his eyes prick with tears threatening to overflow and wanted to scream. All he could do was cry. All he ever did was cry. He could count on one hand the amount of times he cried before everything happened and now he was always so on edge that it seemed everything set him off. It was like panic was constantly bubbling in the back of his throat, ready to spill out. 

He picked up his head and tried to follow what Magnus had taught him. He could almost hear Magnus telling him, “Breathe in deeply. Hold it with me. Focus on something solid. Breathe out. And again.”

He took another shaky inhale that didn’t seem to fill his lungs and stared intently at his hands and the deep scarring cutting across some of his fingers, just above the knuckles of his fists. 

_ “An archer without his fingers is as good as dead.”  _

Alec clenched his hands, watching the scars stretch, and reached up to fist his hair as he dropped his head. 

_ “Please, no, Sir, anything else, please I’ll be good.” _

He gasped through an inhale, feeling hot tears begin to spill down his face as he struggled to get back to Magnus’ breathing pattern. 

_ “Anything?”  _

He heard the knob of the door turn, startling him out of his tears as he snapped his head up to stare in horror at the door. Shit, shit, he could have sworn he locked it. 

He frantically scrubbed at his eyes, trying to swipe away the tears and get himself under control when he heard Jace call in an uncharacteristically soft voice, “Alec? I thought you went home.”

Alec opened his mouth to speak but a soft sob left him instead and he pressed a hand over his mouth as he heard Jace hurry towards him. 

“Hey, easy, what happened?”

Alec shook his head rapidly but opened his eyes as Jace crouched by his chair, purposefully not touching him. Alec took a wheezing inhale as Jace tried again, “Breathe, Alec, it’s alright.” 

After a few minutes, Alec managed to calm his breathing to a reasonable rate. “I’m sorry I- It’s been a long day.” 

“Don’t apologize.” Jace said quickly, wincing when Alec flinched. “Shit. I’m sorry. I thought you were going home hours ago but Magnus called in a fury asking about a patrol.”

Alec was quiet, floundering for how to explain himself. “I couldn’t- I want- Be alone? I can’t- Everyone looks at me like I’m going to  _ break _ .” He couldn’t stand to look at Jace. He knew he would be met with the expression he’d become painfully familiar with, one of pity. 

“Hey, it’s ok. We’re just worried about you. I’m sorry we’ve made you feel that way.” Jace spoke calmly and quietly. “You’ve been blocking me out.” He added, softer than the rest. 

“I don’t want to burden you.” Alec finally looked up, surprised to find that Jace was looking at him evenly, not wearing the pitying smile he’d grown accustomed to. “You’re dealing with enough.”

“Alec, I’m your parabatai. We’re in this together. Don’t isolate yourself.” Jace pressed a hand against his hip where his parabatai rune was hidden under his shirt. 

Alec unconsciously mimicked the gesture, feeling the raised scarring wrapping around it. 

_ “The pain of two Shadowhunters for the price of one. We’ll leave this in tact for now but let’s have some fun with it.” _

Alec exhaled slowly, closing his eyes for a moment as he relaxed the block he’d held firm for months. He heard Jace make a muffled noise as all of Alec’s pain and fear hit him at once. 

“I didn’t know you were still hurting so much.” Jace said through grit teeth and Alec began to pull some of it back, struggling to put back up the block that his body didn’t want to spend energy on keeping up. 

“Don’t. You’re not alone, remember?” Jace said, meeting Alec’s gaze as he opened his eyes, swallowing hard. 

Alec gave a curt nod. “Thank you,” he whispered. 

“Yeah.” Jace gave him a small smile, “Take tomorrow off and go home, ok? Magnus is probably just as worried as we are.”

Alec nodded slowly, feeling a weak relief from finally releasing the block he’d been holding up for the months since he got home. He’d nearly forgotten the comfort of being able to reach out and push against Jace, receiving a press in return reminding him he wasn’t alone. 

“I’ll see you Thursday.” Jace smiled at him again, standing and waiting for Alec to as well. 

They walked out together, Alec feeling nearly weak with relief as they leaned against each other, perhaps not physically but mentally. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't forget to leave a comment!


	8. Stabbed - Day 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mmm still not 100% happy with this honestly, I don't usually write stuff like this and I've been super drained from midterms. I hope you guys like iit :) I have been thinking about some part 2s and so on so be looking forward for those

Jace wasn’t meant to go alone. But then again, that’s how the story always went. 

Alec had tried to convince him. “You can’t leave till we get more information, you don’t even know what you’re going up against!” He’d yelled as Jace strapped on enough blades to supply an army. “The law is hard but it is the law and the law says you can’t go on a mission without a permit!” 

“They’re murderers, Alec, and we can’t just sit waiting for a permit while someone else dies. Who cares if it’s a demon or a fae? Someone will go after it eventually so why not now and why not us?”

In the end, Alec had thrown on his gear, only having time to grab his blade, grumbling about consequences and self-preservation. 

They’d stolen the scrap of fabric belonging to the latest victim using Alec’s security clearance. “You owe me one for this,” He’d hissed as he waved his stele over the rune but Jace just grinned at him as he snatched the pie of red fabric from the cabinet. Tracking it had been harder. They’d both tried, swapping off the fabric and even attempting to utilize their parabatai bond. Yes, something seemed off. A location was given but that was all as opposed to the usual occurrence of being given a glimpse of the owner. Alec sucked his teeth as their tracking stuttered for the third time, “There has to be some kind of a block on it. What if it’s some kind of a trap?”

“Trap schmap. Even if it is, that means someone will be there. Let’s go.” Jace started off before Alec could protest but he just rolled his eyes and chased after. 

They first saw the blood a block from their destination, in the middle of an alleyway. Jace had pushed past it initially, focused on getting where the fabric lead, but Alec did a double take, calling out, “Wait, look at this.”

Jace appeared at Alec’s side and they stared at the symbol staining the brick wall silently. 

“It’s not a rune. Not one in the Grey Book at least.” Jace finally announced. 

“Jace-” Alec began, a creeping feeling of discomfort crawling up his neck, before being interrupted. 

“It trails down the alley. Ten bucks say it spits us out right where this sends us.” Jace called, waving the scrap of fabric, and darting away before Alec had a chance to argue over the wager. 

They ended up in a small clearing between buildings, surrounded by trash bins and alleyways. Alec scanned their environment anxiously from the basketball hoop long missing its net to the pile of broken flower pots, likely knocked off a windowsill by a stray cat, but at first, nothing seemed off despite the growing feeling of dread filling his stomach. Even with advanced tracking and eyesight runes, he still had to focus to push through the glamour surrounding them. “Jace, do you see-”

“The summoning ring? Yeah.”

Surrounding them was a bloody circle, spanning the width of the clearing, with lines criss crossing under their feet and a runic scrawl curling around the exterior in a long forgotten language. 

Jace started, “Do you think-” but he never finished before Alec yelled and shoved him out of the way just as a small blade whistled by his ear and exploded the previously intact flower pot behind them. Jace started to swear but immediately the two had their backs to each other, bow drawn and blade wielded in a defensive position as familiar as breathing. 

Alec spotted a flash of fabric out of the corner of his eye but, before he had a chance to aim, they were surrounded by a group of people in red robes that obscured their faces and bodies. 

He heard Jace snort from behind him, “A cult, really?”

Before Alec could jab him in the back with a well placed elbow, one of the people sent a small blade flying at their heads, prompting Alec to release his first arrow as Jace launched himself at the nearest attacker. 

The fight was clean but evenly matched. Blades seemed to come from every direction at once and Alec let his reflexes take over, dodging and knocking arrows until he and Jace were alone once more, surrounded by their fallen attackers. 

“Looks like we were both right about the trap.” Alec called offhandedly, catching his breath as he watched Jace bend to reveal the face of one of the people. 

“Shadowhunters. But why…” Jace trailed off, looking up from his crouched position as a sudden crash came from one of the alleys. “Stay here.” He called to Alec and was gone in a flash. 

Alec sighed, moving to follow but being distracted as a flash of gold caught his eye from the rooftops. He didn’t have time to draw his bow before he had to drop and dodge a stray blade shooting past his head. He rolled and jumped to his feet only to find his assailant had appeared in front of him at what seemed like an inhuman speed and had begun flinging small knives with the speed of a machine. 

Alec managed to dodge the first ten blades but they came too fast and he soon found himself with his back pressed against the wall. He tried to draw his blade but the momentarily drop in full concentration landed him with a blade in the shoulder he’d been reaching with. The next three blades landed in rapid succession, leg, stomach, arm. They stopped coming when Alec slumped back against the brick wall, standing but only barely, mouth agape as his body tried to cope with the sudden shocks of pain. 

The person came close, far too close, and leaned forward, whispering in Alec’s ear, “Long live the Morgensterns.” 

Alec wasn’t sure he’d heard them right, the pain of the blades, each buried to the hilt, was overwhelming and it was hard to focus on anything else. The person had begun to draw away and before he could even think about what he was doing, Alec screamed as he yanked the blade from his stomach with a sickening rip that would haunt his dreams and drove it into the heart of his attacker. 

The person staggered back, having not expected it and a much larger blade suddenly appeared from their stomach as Jace appeared behind them. Alec’s vision swam and his legs suddenly gave out, sending him to the floor. 

“Hey, hey, Alec? Alec, everything’s ok. Stay with me.” Jace was suddenly hovering over him and Alec weakly reached out, not sure of what he was reaching for, but he found Jace’s hand. The pain seemed to be clouding his vision and his mind and all he could focus on was the sharp, shooting pains that throbbed through him. He suddenly made an awful gurgling noise and coughing, spitting out a mouthful of blood. 

“Shit, ok. I’m sorry, this is going to hurt.” Jace said from somewhere above him and suddenly, the same awful ripping noise filled his ears as Jace pulled the blade out of his shoulder. Alec tried to scream but all that came out was a pitiful whining sob as he gripped onto Jace’s hand. The rest of the blades came out almost as fast as they went in but each pull may as well have been a slow drag as the metal severed just as much flesh going out as it did in. 

The beginnings of unconsciousness were beginning to slip into his vision as he felt the choking bliss of an iratze begin to shoot through him. 

“-ec? Can you hear me? You’re ok but we- to get to the Institute. I’m calling Mag-s. Portaling will be fa-.” 

Jace’s words seemed to come in and out as Alec swam between consciousness. The iratze has worked, he could feel the beginnings of his skin stitching together, but he knew he’d lost a lot of blood, too much. He coughed, spitting up blood and weakly agreed through chattering teeth, “M’gnus.” 

Jace’s firm grip on his hand was the only thing grounding him to reality when he saw a familiar blue light out of the corner of his eyes. 

He’d be ok. He knew it. But the darkness was so welcoming and the world felt so far away. Maybe later he would wake up in the Institute and properly chide Jace but for now all he could muster before he slipped away was, “T’ld you was a trap…” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't forget to comment!


	9. *Shackles - Day 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So i don't love this chapter either but as you can see by the fact that I keep turning these out at 1 am school has been kicking my entire ass and i've been super burned out by the time i finish my homework and have time to get to these but i'm determined to keep on them! Hopefully you guys like them anyway. I started and restarted this one about five times rip me. 
> 
> Anyway this is a continuation of the mini series!

Alec may have lived it, but Magnus had his own nightmares. He would never have expected what he dreamed about. It was always the details, the little things that had stuck in his heart like a blade when he first saw Alec. 

His gaze had been utterly blank. Alec’s beautiful, bright blue eyes that he always pictured as filled with mirth were dull and hazy. Trails of dried tears stuck out through the dirt that had greyed his face, seeming to have caked on from the months of pressing his face against the dirty concrete. 

There had been a knife in his thigh, left with the intention of causing pain. Magnus had no idea how long it had been there but by the time it was pulled out in the infirmary, the skin around it had tinged purple and the blade had come away covered in blood mixed with puss. 

Alec’s fingers twitched, especially when he was unconscious, as if searching for something to hold onto. His nails were caked with dried blood and the palms of his hands revealed its origin with small, scabbed over crescents. Then there were the harsh lines sliding across the tops of his fingers, just above the knuckles. 

There were harsh burns on his chest, forming rudimentary letters that spelled out ‘Lex’ over his heart. Little was known about the man that had imprisoned his beloved boy and Alec certainly wasn’t speaking about him. All they knew was he'd been a warlock with a vehement hatred for Shadowhunters. The word stood out against Alec’s skin, a mocking reminder of the crimes he’d been punished for but hadn’t committed. 

Somehow the worst was the chains. His wrists had been bound resolutely behind him, likely when he’d first arrived. Alec had moaned when Isabelle had went to remove them, even in his unconscious state. She’d pulled away harshly with a ghostly look that Magnus hoped to never see on another person, whispering that Alec’s wrists had scabbed to the shackles. In the end, Jace had cut the chains binding the cuffs to the wall and they’d been fully removed when they arrived at the hospital. 

They’d left behind harsh, purpling lines encircling Alec’s wrists, one of the few scars still visible from under his clothing. He’d catch Alec rubbing at them anxiously, staring into the distance in a daze, reopening wounds as they tried once more to scab over. Despite his constant worrying of the skin, Alec had become finicky about things touching his wrists. The desire to not feel a weight around his wrists even won over his anxious need to keep his scarring covered and Alec began rolling the sleeves of his shirts, just enough that his wrists were exposed but his arms remained safely covered. 

Magnus had caught him by the wrist. Once. 

Alec had woken from a nightmare, eyes glazed and unseeing as he begged Sir not to hurt him, that he’d be good. Magnus felt bile crawling up his throat as he struggled to calm Alec down while feeling like he was falling apart with him. He should have known better than to touch him but Alec looked so  _ scared  _ and in the nights before he’d always pressed himself firmly against Magnus the moment he woke, desperately seeking comfort through touch. He should have expected for Alec to react violently but he didn’t think to stop himself when he easily dodged Alec’s frantic punch, grabbing his wrist on reflex. 

It had worked. Alec woke up. 

He woke screaming but it soon turned into desperate, keening sobs as he choked out strangled pleas. Magnus watched, horrified, with apologies rolling off his tongue, as Alec curled in on himself, clutching at the wrist Magnus had grabbed and holding it to his chest.

It took over an hour to get Alec calm enough that he could get in hiccuping inhales and he was still crying but not nearly as hard and that was good enough. It was a sharp departure from the clinginess he’d come to expect but Alec couldn’t even stand to finish the night in Magnus’ room. Magnus asked gently if Alec wanted to go back to sleep and had received a hesitant, small nod in response. Alec glanced up at him for the first time that night with eyes wide and full of brimming fear and Magnus had quickly followed up with an offer to sleep in the guest room. Alec shook his head, not seeming capable of speech, and stood shakily but sharply and hurried towards the door and down the hall to the guest room, rubbing at his wrists. Magnus tried not to feel hurt when he heard the lock on the door click. 

Magnus didn’t sleep that night and from the looks of his eyes, Alec didn’t either. The new-found touch aversion lasted throughout the day and Magnus’ heart broke a little more every time Alec flinched away from a movement that was just a bit too close or just a bit too fast, holding his wrists to his chest. 

That night though, Alec had joined him in sitting on the couch and seemed to hesitate for a moment before resolutely slipping a hand into Magnus’. Magnus’ heart filled but anxiety thrummed through him at the possibility of scaring Alec away. They sat in silence for a while and evenually, when he hazarded that Alec wouldn’t be spooked away, Magnus murmured an apology. Alec’s response only made him nauseous. 

“It’s alright, Sir.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a comment! They've been the only thing making me get these out every day :,)


	10. +Unconscious - Day 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I'm a lot happier with this chapter and I hope to keep getting out better works now that school has calmed down just the tiniest bit. I hope you guys like it since everyone wanted a sequel to Dragged Away :) I'll make a note in the beginning chapter as well but I'll mark this mini series with a +

Alec had given up on looking out of the cell. He’d long since turned towards the wall and his right shoulder ached from laying on the hard concrete for so long but he couldn’t turn and keep looking out, startling at every noise with the hope that he would see Magnus coming down the hall, safe. 

The cold had seeped into his bones but he didn’t have the energy to curl up or tightened his arms around himself. The tears had long since dried but the cool air seemed insistent on getting into his skin, using the wet as a liaison. His hands ached to the bone where scabs had formed over his knuckles, a futile expression of anger that smeared his blood against the wall. 

What if Magnus was dead?

He had tried to keep himself from spiraling into that circle of thinking but he’d lost count of how many days he had been lying, unmoving on the cold stone. Eventually, he allowed himself the small comfort of thinking about his beloved, even if the possibilities made his throat close and choke. 

They wouldn’t let him die. He’s too valuable to their experiment. It’s not like they had spare warlocks to go around. 

The back of his head throbbed. He’d long since closed his eyes and kept them shut against the harsh fluorescent light coming from the hallway. Alec had punched the walls until an overwhelming nausea and dizziness had overcome him and sent him to the floor where he had remained. 

What if he was alive?

The thought was almost worse. Before he got sick, they’d already tortured Magnus to unspeakable points but at least they had returned him to the cell at the end of each day where Alec could wrap his arms around his trembling, beloved boy and soothe and ease until Magnus’ weak sobs quieted and he fell into a fitful sleep. Had they decided to continue with their experiments sans Alec and leave him to die in the cells below? 

He had no idea if they’d been bringing him food. They’d always thrown him a piece of bread and an egg when they came to retrieve Magnus. He didn’t know if he simply hadn’t heard them come over the ringing in his ears or if they had abandoned him. He didn’t know how long he’d been facing the wall but the hungry ache in his stomach had turned sharp and painful at some point. 

When Alec heard the footsteps, he thought he had begun to hallucinate. He’d been hearing Magnus’ voice in his ears for days and he presumed this was his minds latest installation of attempted self-comfort. But then the cell door opened. 

“Here Shadowhunter.” A light, haughty voice came from behind him. 

Alec didn’t move, his body tensing painfully as his muscles complained of disuse. 

“Leave him.” The voice said again and Alec snapped to when he sensed a presence behind him. 

He sat up sharply and immediately nausea climbed up his throat as he had to lean against the wall behind him, eyes pressed shut as he waited for the overwhelming dizziness to pass. Alec forced his eyes open and was faced with the same guard that had taken Magnus away, the female scientist standing outside the cell who had authorized it, and Magnus. 

Magnus, who was lying slumped on the floor in a similar manner to how Alec had been moments before. 

Alec’s dazed mind didn’t allow him to move as the guard turned and left, shutting the cell door resolutely behind him. The sound seemed to snap Alec back to reality and he scrambled forward to where Magnus was lying. Alec rolled him onto his back and frantically pressed his ear to Magnus’ chest. The relief was dizzying as he felt the rise and fall of Magnus’ chest, slow and weak but present nonetheless. 

Alec looked up to the sound of their captors turning on their heels to exit the way they had came and he couldn’t hold back the raw pain that escaped him as he yelled, “What did you _do_ _to him_?” 

They didn’t answer and Alec was nearly screaming with desperation as he repeated himself, looking back to Magnus and pulling him up and into a tight embrace. 

He didn’t realize he was sobbing until he realized Magnus’ thin t-shirt was growing damp in the shoulder where Alec had pressed his face. Alec forced down the panic crescendoing in his chest and adjusted how he was holding Magnus so that he could look at his face. 

He was unconscious, that was true, but there was color to his face that hadn’t been there as Alec watched them drag him away. He was warm but it wasn’t the same burning heat that had seemed to come off him in waves, making Alec sweat as he lay pressed against him at night. But why wasn’t he awake?

A quick, anxious survey gave him the answer. The crooks of both of Magnus’ arms were bruised and pocked with a multitude of tiny red dots where needles had been slipped under his skin. 

Alec could have melted with relief. Magnus was drugged, probably to keep him docile in the transition of butting him back in the cell, but he wasn’t dead or comatose. 

The relief was short-lived as Alec realized Magnus’ hands were firmly bandaged, wrapping around each fingertip and climbing to his wrists. The relief gave way to nausea as countless scenarios raced through his mind at once. 

He forced himself to push them aside and carefully picked Magnus up the best he could in his weakened state, moving so he was sat with his back against the corner of the wall, Magnus in his lap and tucked against his chest, safe. 

His body was utterly exhausted with the sudden exertion of the past few minutes that was such a change from the past week but Alec couldn’t sleep. Even if his eyes dropped and his head swam with exhaustion, he had to be awake for when Magnus woke, even if it took another week. Magnus had been alone for far too long and had endured countless horrors. Now that he was within the circle of Alec's protective arms, as safe as he could be in their current situation, Alec couldn’t let him face it alone any longer. 

So he stroked over Magnus’ back and ran his fingers through his dirty hair, detangling it as gently as possible. He gently rubbed his hands up and down Magnus’ bare arms and calves, trying to put some heat into him to ward away the oppressive cold of the cell. He spoke to Magnus all the while, murmuring about everything and nothing, more to soothe himself. 

Eventually, he was rewarded with a small movement, and then a twitch of his hands, and then finally, finally Magnus wearily blinked his eyes open, revealing bleary, unglamoroed cat irises. He didn’t seem to know where he was at first so Alec kept speaking softly to him, reassuring Magnus that he was alright and everything was ok, they were back together and they’d be fine. 

The moment Magnus seemed to fully come to, he flinched weakly as the realization set in that he was in someone’s lap being cradled against them. Alec’s heart ached as Magnus sharply pulled his hands to his chest, protective and fearful, but he soldiered on, telling Magnus that it was alright, it was just him, he was safe. As Alec’s voice seemed to penetrate the haze of fear, Magnus looked at Alec as if afraid that he would disappear and opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out as tears began to stream down his face and he pressed himself against Alec, desperate as Alec immediately tightened his embrace. 

Alec found his own tears falling as he rubbed Magnus’ back and comforted weakly, voice cracking as he soaked up the feeling. 

“I thought I was never going to see you again.” He heard come, muffled, from against his shoulder. 

“It’s alright, darling, I’m right here.” Alec didn’t need to say that the same thought had plagued him from the moment Magnus had disappeared around the corner. They both knew. 

They sat in silence after that, each drawing strength from the other’s presence. They would fall asleep eventually, both exhausted and traumatized in their own right, pressed one to the other. Eventually, Magnus would stutter through how the scientists had tried to figure out why magic came out of his hands and Alec would cry along with him and he tenderly cupped Magnus’ bandaged hands in his own. For now though, they were safe and warm against each other and that was enough. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the lovely comments!


	11. *Stitches - Day 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, not much to say except I hope you liked this chapter! I've been thinking about it for a while but I'm super exhausted as I type it so I hope it came out ok.

Magnus had always been a light sleeper but lately, he had been so on edge at night, waiting for the inevitable, that it seemed a light breeze across the city could wake him. He didn’t mind though, not if it meant he woke when Alec would begin to tremble soundlessly against him and Magnus could coak him awake and comfort away the nightmares. 

Tonight was no different. Magnus found himself suddenly awake and momentarily confused before he fully came to. He found Alec pressed against him, asleep but trembling violently and pressing his lips together in a vain attempt to keep the fearful whines from leaving him. 

Magnus was used to it by now, but the sight didn’t hurt any less. His heart ached as he began the familiar motions of stroking gently over Alec’s hair and speaking to him, murmuring that everything was alright and he was safe but he needed to wake up. But tonight, he wasn’t suddenly met with wide, fearful blue eyes. Alec didn’t blink away the tears and press against him. He didn’t soothe back into a fitful sleep. 

Magnus’s brow furrowed but he continued to stroke over Alec’s arms and neck, carefully avoiding the outline of thick winding bandages under his shirt that covered his whole torso. Magnus spoke a bit louder now, trying to encourage Alec into joining the world of the conscious. Alec was normally so on edge from whatever plagued him that he woke moments after Magnus laid a hand on him, flinching away for a moment before realizing where he was and sinking into Magnus’ offered embrace. 

Alec let out a weak whimper as his lower lip wobbled but he remained still, too still as his conditioning gripped his unconscious mind. Magnus’ stomach turned as he heard Alec begging under his breath, nearly incomprehensible, “Please, Sir,  _ please don’t-  _ I can’t-  _ please _ -” 

Magnus sat up fully now, shaking Alec gently but desperately as pleading words tumbled from his lips louder and louder until Alec suddenly screamed, bolting up and falling off the bed in his panic to release himself from the blankets. Magnus watched in horror as Alec hit the floor and immediately curled up, pulling his knees and his arms to his chest as he blinked rapidly. Magnus opened his mouth to reassure Alec that he was safe but before he could, the realization seemed to sink in by itself and Alec slowly began to sob, pressing his hands to his face and leaning sideways against the bed. 

“Oh, sweetheart.” Magnus murmured, quickly sliding off the bed and kneeling next to Alec, who eagerly leaned into him and pressed his face against Magnus’ chest, quickly dampening it with tears. 

“You’re alright, I know. That was a really bad one but you’re safe, I’m here.” Magnus kissed his hair and carefully readjusted how he was holding Alec, doing his best to provide as much security and comfort as possible while avoiding his back. 

It was then that he noticed the blood seeping through the back of Alec’s thin shirt with each heaving breath. 

“Shit,” Magnus muttered and Alec immediately pulled away, startled by the sudden change in tone, and stared at Magnus anxiously while he tried to get his emotions under control. Magnus softened his face and tone immediately, feeling guilt pool in his stomach, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you but I think you ripped your stitches. You’re bleeding through your shirt.” Magnus hesitated, doing his best to pick his words carefully, “We need to get that fixed or at least looked at tonight, alright?” 

The meaning of his words sunk in and Alec only started to cry harder, pulling away from Magnus and curling in on himself as he pleaded, “Please no, we don’t have to go to the infirmary, I’ll be good, I’m sorry.” 

“Shhh, hey, easy, it’s ok they’ll just look at your back and we can come right back here. We’ll even portal but you’re bleeding a lot sweetheart.” Magnus was startled by the sudden outburst but could only presume they’d fallen against another thing that inexplicably reminded Alec of the time he was captured. “You’re good, you’re so good, darling, you're not going to be hurt.” 

Alec didn’t seem to hear but he fell back against Magnus’ chest and continued to sob and plead. Magnus wrapped his arm carefully around Alec and summoned his phone in the other hand, noting with some relief that it was five in the morning, meaning the Institute would be nearly in full swing and someone could certainly patch up Alec. He dialed Isabelle’s phone number and stroked over Alec’s hair as he waited impatiently for her to answer. 

“Hello? Yes, it’s about Alec. Shhh, no sweetheart, it’s just Isabelle. No, I was talking to Alec. Listen, is someone available in the infirmary? No, he’s ok- I know, it’s ok, easy, you’re alright- No, I was talking to Alec- He’s ok but he had a nightmare and ripped his stitches and he’s bleeding a lot. Shh, it’s just Isabelle and me, remember? It’s ok. No, I’m still here. We’ll portal over in just a moment. Ok. Ok, see you in a second.” 

Magnus set his phone down and turned his attention back to Alec, who had calmed down slightly but still had tears flowing freely down his face. “Hey sweetheart. I know you’re scared but we have to get your stitches looked at, ok? They’re just going to make sure you’re ok and then we’ll come home.” 

Alec gave a shaky nod, his trust of Magnus outweighing the seemingly paralyzing fear that had gripped him. 

Magnus helped him stand and get into a pair of jeans. He’d initially tried for a pair of sweatpants but Alec, now calmer and ever the diligent Shadowhunter, muttered something insistently about ‘looking decent.’ 

Alec stood with his arms wrapped firmly around himself as Magnus quickly created a portal and ushered him through first, stomach tightening at the sight of the growing bloodstain on the back of his shirt. 

They stepped through and immediately were met with Isabelle who ushered them into one of the few small private rooms. Alec hesitated in the doorway before walking over to the exam table with an aura of dread surrounding him as he sat, firmly wrapping his arms around himself once more. He looked utterly miserable, anxiously pressing his legs together so tightly that his knees began to tremble. Alec seemed torn between wanting to slouch into himself to hide and sit up straight in the manner he’d been raised. 

Isabelle let out a soft breath. “I’ve never seen him like this,” She whispered to Magnus, pain distinct in her eyes. “What did they  _ do _ to him…” 

Magnus didn’t have a chance to respond before one of the doctors appeared in the doorway behind them, wielding a small plastic bag that appeared to have the necessary tools for stitching up a wound. She smiled sadly at them but nodded and entered the room, Alec sitting up straight and seeming to force his arms away from himself as she did. 

Isabelle nodded to Magnus and stepped out of the room, allowing Magnus to hurry over to the exam table behind him. 

“Alec, if you don’t mind, I can use magic to get your shirt off so you don’t have to pick up your arms.” Magnus offered. Alec nodded slowly, his face still tracked with tears but a painful calm that Magnus could sense hid growing unease. Magnus snapped his fingers and Alec gripped the edge of the table momentarily as he suddenly found himself shirtless. 

The exam was efficient and Alec sat motionless, face blank as the doctor peeled away his bandages and revealed layers of skin, stripped away by a whip, some fresh and some months old. Magnus tried to avert his eyes, knowing that despite his stony stare, Alec desperately didn’t want his scars and injuries to be seen. The only interruption to his facade was when the doctor announced to him that she was going to numb the area with lidocaine and a flash of panic crossed Alec’s features. 

“No, no, don’t. I can take it.” The words seemed to come involuntarily. “Please.” He added as a quiet afterthought. Magnus and the doctor exchanged a look behind Alec’s back but she nodded and said, “Alright, if that’s what you want.” 

Magnus felt a pang of indignance at that. Of course, it wasn’t what he wanted, this was the result of months of torture. He forced it down, knowing he was just exhausted and worried and that wasn’t how she had meant it. “Why can’t you use an iratze?” He asked instead, partially remembering through the haze of exhaustion but wanting to say anything to fill the oppressive silence in the room as she began to thread a needle. 

“Magic was infused into his injures that make runes useless against them.” She replied, professional but not cold. “Alright, take a breath and let it out on one, two…”

Alec flinched at the initial stitch but sat solidly through the rest, the only indication of how he was feeling being how he couldn’t seem to decide between pressing his eyes shut and looking to Magnus for support. Magnus wanted to extend a hand, anything to provide some shred of comfort, but knew the touch wasn’t welcome, not here in the Institute where Alec already feared judgment for being the Shadowhunter that had gotten himself captured and tortured, nevermind that he was dating a Downworlder of the same species as the man that had kept him prisoner for all those months. 

Magnus felt as though the stitching drew on forever but knew it was nothing compared to how Alec felt. Eventually, the doctor declared him finished and re-wrapped his torse firmly in crisp, white bandages that stuck out against his rune marked skin. “Try not to break these this time.” She said in a manner that insinuated she was joking, although nothing else about her demeanor did as she left the room. 

They sat quietly for a minute, Magnus waiting for Alec to make the first move. Eventually, he did, taking a deep, shaky inhale and wiping away a single tear as he looked back to Magnus, “Can we go back to the loft?” 

“Of course, sweetheart.” 

They did and all the tension seemed to drain out of Alec as they returned to their familiar, safe home and tumbled back into bed. He pressed back up against Magnus, who wrapped around him in return. The exhaustion seemed to have finally caught up to both of them as they slept soundly until morning in a blessed few hours of uninterrupted sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a comment!


	12. "Don't move" - Day 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one's a lot shorter than the rest! I didn't have it in me to beat the hell out of Alec or Magnus today so here's a softer, fluffier one-shot. I needed a bit of a break from the heard whump :,) Hope you like it!

“Don’t move.” Magnus griped, running his fingers lightly over Alec’s stomach, pressing blue light in that briefly glowed before seeming to sink into his skin. 

“Tickles.” Alec squirmed under the touch, letting out a huff of breath as Magnus ran his fingers along the outline of a shallow gash. 

“You complain when it tickles and not when you nearly get eviscerated?” Magnus sat back on his heels as the wound slowly began to heal. “I told you not to move,” He repeated as Alec tried to sit up, bracing against the arm of the couch he was reclined on. 

“It doesn’t even hurt anymore.” Alec huffed, laying back but turning his head to look at Magnus, reaching out and wiping a fleck of blood off the warlock’s cheek. “Besides, I have to tell Jace and Isabelle that you fixed me.” 

Magnus was quiet as he picked up a small pot of salve and spread it over the angry, red scar on Alec’s stomach. Alec, to his defense, tried not to squirm away from the cold medicine but didn’t succeed. Magnus stopped and gave him a sharp look that lacked any bite to which Alec ducked his head sheepishly and murmured an apology, doing his best to hold still as Magnus finished. 

“Alright, now sit up straight,” Magnus instructed, putting aside the pot as Alec did so, turning back to him and wrapping a clean, white bandage firmly around Alec’s stomach with quick, skilled fingers. 

“When will you stop following your idiot parabatai and jumping in the way of his consequences?” Magnus sighed, although he looked decidedly calmer than when Alec appeared at his door, leaking blood all over the floor. 

“You know I can’t do that…” Alec replied softly, reaching out to Magnus and pulling him forward onto the couch when he took his hand. He leaned on Magnus’ shoulder and melted into the touch when Magnus wrapped his arms firmly around him. 

“I worry about you. Especially when you have to uphold the self-preservation of two people.” Magnus said into his hair, “I think that’s a fair concern when you show up on my doorstep every other day with a mortal injury.” 

“Sorry.” Alec murmured into the crook of Magnus’ neck, “I don’t mean to scare you.” They sat in silence for a moment before Alec quietly added, “I don’t think I’m used to someone worrying about me so much is all.” 

“What about Jace and Isabelle?” Magnus asked indignantly, “You worry so much for their lives that you’re blind to see they have the same concern for yours.” 

Alec didn’t reply, closing his eyes and enjoying the feeling as Magnus began to stroke over his hair, “Maybe you’re right.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't forget to comment!


	13. *Adrenaline - Day 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another super short one since I'm visiting a friend for the weekend and don't have it in me to bully my boys too much but you are getting some good backstory with this one. Hope you like it! Shoutout to @genesissane on tumblr for the prompt that inspired this and also to @HephaistionsThighs for all their lovely comments!

“Hey, easy. Are you sure you’re alright to do this?” Jace looked at Alec with the expression Alec had grown familiar with but somehow was grateful to see every time. It wasn’t pity, just gentle concern and it seemed Jace was the only person who understood that Alec didn’t need pity. He didn’t want it. 

“Yeah just-” Alec took a deep inhale, readjusting the strap on his quiver for the third time even though it was literally made for him and fit perfectly. “I just- Last time…”  _ Last time I went on a mission, you darted off and I was too stupid and weak to keep myself from getting kidnapped.  _

“You don’t have to do this, you’re still technically on medical leave.” Jace said, “You’re shaking.” He added softly. Alec was grateful when Jace turned his gaze away to look down at the already gleaming sword he was polishing. 

“Just adrenaline,” Alec replied in a tone that was just as soft, undoing and relatching the quiver strapped to his chest. “Fight or flight. Wish I could turn it off when there’s no use in it.”

“I’ll be right next to you the whole time. I swear. It’s just a hoard of Shax demons anyway, nothing you can’t handle. You've got this” 

Alec had closed his eyes, trying to still his racing heart. 

_ “You were so easy to pick off once you were alone, almost too easy. I was afraid I’d gotten myself into a trap. Surely no respectable Shadowhunter goes down so easily? Surely not the glorious Head of the Institute. I thought Shadowhunters were supposed to be more aware of their surroundings but if I knew it was so easy to sneak up from behind and stick a needle in your neck, I’d have started picking you off long ago.”  _

“Alec?” 

Alec’s eyes snapped open as his heart pounded painfully, seeing Jace looking at him with that same concerned expression. 

He finally tucked away the end of the quiver strap for the last time and steadied himself, matching Jace’s gaze. “Let’s go.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't forget to comment!


	14. *Tear Stained - Day 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Are ya'll proud of me for getting these out before 1 am of the day after the prompt? I am Anyway, another short one as I'm still visiting a friend but they should start getting longer against tomorrow. Hope ya'll like it!
> 
> Edit: woah caught a bunch of typos and messed up sentences. Sorry about that! Fixed now

Neither wanted the other to see them cry. It wasn’t embarrassment or a lack of trust. Both wanted to be strong for the other and couldn’t admit that they were falling apart.

Alec cried at the drop of a hat in the weeks he returned from the hospital. He was always so on edge that it seemed anything could set him off. Anything from a slightly raised voice to an injury on TV would send him into a fit of tears despite his struggle to keep them at bay.

Alec and Magnus showered together fairly regularly before it all, often not even in a sexual manner, just a way to spend a few intimate moments together while the world fell apart around them. Alec couldn’t bear to even wear short sleeves now, let alone be completely naked in front of someone, even if it was just Magnus.

Alec used to stand in a soldier’s parade rest when unoccupied but Magnus had coaxed into him a sense of calm over the time they’d dated. Alec finally seemed to actually, fully relax when he was in the loft, no longer looking like he could launch into battle at any given moment. He’d returned from the hospital and seemed to shrink into himself, finding a new nervous habit in wrapping his arms around himself protectively.

Magnus had noticed when it seemed Alec was readjusting to normal life. He didn’t cry as often and seemed to crave Magnus’ touch, a far cry from the touch aversion Magnus had come to expect from him in the hospital. It had come as a relief at first.

The problem had come when Alec seemed to start distancing himself from Magnus. He still stuck to Magnus as though he would die without touch but he’d grown quiet. Things that previously set him into tears left him shaky but silent. At first, Magnus had believed that perhaps Alec was getting better. Maybe things didn’t upset him as much and he really was getting used to regular life again.

But it was hard to hide tears. Magnus’ stomach would turn when his previously stonily calm Alec would go shower and return nearly an hour later with puffy, red eyes. He’d leave for the bathroom and return with tear-stained cheeks and shining eyes but would smile against Magnus’ concern and duck his head away as they returned to the couch to watch tv. Almost worse was when Magnus woke in the morning and saw the aftermath of the night’s dreams. He’d woke to Alec crying time after time but somehow, waking to Alec’s face splotchy and covered in dried tears cut him so much deeper.

Magnus knew Alec saw his tears. Alec would return home from the Institute to find Magnus sat on the couch, silently staring at the wall as he absently stirred a martini glass in one hand. He’d sit next to him and gently take the glass, setting it on the coffee table and taking Magnus’ face into his hands, wiping away tear tracks with his thumbs.

The exchanges happened silently and the first words exchanged always changed the topic. Neither could bear to put their worries on the other when both were so heavily weighed down. All they could do was wipe away each other’s tears and keep moving forward.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't forget to comment! I'm still open to suggestions of prompts!


	15. *Scars - Day 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A much longer chapter! This ended up being one of my faves so I hope you enjoy it! This chapter does have a TW for past noncon but its super super vaguely implied.  
Edits: Wrote this real quick and accidentally left a couple fragment sentences woops

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Magnus asked warily, fingers itching to reach out and brush back Alec’s hair but knowing that, right now, Alec needed space.

“Dr. Northrup said it’s an important step in the healing process.” Alec couldn’t look Magnus in the eyes. He’d been wary when Catarina had suggested Margaret Northrup, a therapist who happened to be a werewolf, but had grown thankful. He wasn’t feeling particularly thankful now, though, as he steeled himself to take off his shirt, only managing to finger at the hem instead. “She said I should slowly get used to being touched again and since I trust you, it should be with you.”

“Alec, sweetheart, slowly doesn’t mean jumping from your hands being the only part of your skin I can touch to being naked.” Magnus reached out and gently took Alec’s hands, tugging them away from where he was worrying at his shirt.

The touch soothed Alec and he looked up to where Magnus was looking at him with a heart-achingly worried expression. 

“And just because she suggested it or said it doesn’t mean that you need to take it as law. You know yourself and if something is too overwhelming, you don’t have to do it.” Magnus did reach up to brush over Alec’s hair now, trailing his fingers down until he was gently cupping Alec’s face.

Alec leaned into the touch gratefully. “I want to get better,” He said in a small voice, eyes searching over Magnus’ face, not quite sure what he was looking for. He did, desperately, want to get better. He couldn’t stand the nausea that crept up his throat every time his sleeves inched up while he reached for something or his shirt exposed his back when he bent over. He knew he was safe now so why did he get so lightheaded when tried to touch his skin? “Please, let me try?” He stifled down the Sir that threatened to tumble out of his mouth at the end of the sentence. He could practically hear Northrup’s voice as she insisted upon the importance of breaking that cycle.

Magnus watched Alec’s expression, concerned, but eventually gave a slow, small nod. “Alright. It’s up to you so I won’t disagree. But if you get uncomfortable, tell me immediately, alright?”

Alec nodded quickly, emotion blooming in his stomach that he couldn’t place as anxiety or just nerves. He began to pull away his hands, grateful for the loose grip Magnus had learned to keep with him. It was a small but firm reminder that he had autonomy, even when it felt like he was being held on to. Alec had his fingers on the hem of his shirt when Magnus quickly said, “Why don’t we start slow? You don’t have to take that off yet. We can start with just your hands and wrists?”

“You touch my hands all the time.” Alec replied, half confident in his ability to start strong and half just wanting this to be over already.

“I know. But not your wrists. And if we start with something you’re already familiar with it will be easier to get to the harder stuff.” Magnus reached forward and gently placed his fingers on the back of Alec’s hand, giving him an easy out if he wanted to continue what he was doing anyway.

Alec slowly released the hem of his shirt and rotated his hand so Magnus’ fingers were on his palm, murmuring, “Alright.”

“Tell me if you need to stop or slow down, ok?” Magnus asked and, as Alec nodded his confirmation, began to slowly run his fingers over the deep scarring that dragged across just above Alec’s knuckles, carefully watching Alec’s face.

Alec felt a stir of discomfort in his throat but pushed it aside. He could do this. Even if he could hear the first inklings of Sir’s voice creeping into the back of his mind as Magnus’ feather light touch skimmed his fingers.

_“It’d be awfully hard to learn to shoot a bow with no fingers.”_

Alec lt out a deep, shaky breath as Magnus slowly held Alec’s wrists in a loose grasp. It felt obviously like a touch meant to be just that, a touch, but Alec could feel the faint burn of raw skin under sharp metal as Magnus’ touch rested on the marred, purpling skin wrapping around his wrists. His touch was careful as he ran his fingers around Alec’s wrists, avoiding or lightening his touch in places where they hadn’t fully healed and were still pocked with scabs.

_“Quit pulling on that chain, nothing’s wrong with you. I’ll give you something to try to get away from.”_

“Are you alright?”

Alec’s gaze snapped from his wrists to Magnus, who quickly let go of his hold on Alec. The discomfort had turned into a fear that had left him breathless as he felt the cold metal around his wrists, slick with blood. It must have shown on his face because Magnus began to say, “If you want to stop, you’ve done so we-”

“I don’t.” Alec bit out, trying to get his breathing under control. He was quiet for a second, staring intently at the coffee table to the side of them, wanting to close his eyes but not wanting to lose the grounding sight of the loft around him when the metal and the cruel voice felt so _real_. After a moment, he continued in a steadier voice, “I can- I can do it.”

Magnus didn’t look convinced but he didn’t protest or move to stop him as Alec reached for the hem on his shirt and took a shaky breath before steeling himself and peeling it up and off in one smooth motion. He felt painfully exposed in a way he’d never felt before everything had happened and, as he bunched the shirt in his lap, he couldn’t help a cautionary glance behind him. He was still in the loft. Magnus was here. Sir wasn’t. It was alright. He was just shirtless.

With all his scars on display.

He searched Magnus’ face for any trace of disgust but found only gentle, loving concern.

“Ready?” Magnus asked and Alec’s heart twinged with love that Magnus had accepted his autonomy to try this, even if he didn’t think Alec was fully ready. Alec nodded and Magnus continued, “Which one first?”

Which one. There were so many Magnus didn’t even know where to start.

There were the letters burned into his chest, right above his heart, that spelled out ‘Lex’ in rudimentary lettering.

_“Since Shadowhunters put their precious law above the lives of anyone who isn’t of their own kind. You’re the golden boy, aren’t you? Head of the New York Institute. Maybe they’ll think of this as a show of deference and let you back in.”_

There was the circle carved around his parabati rune.

_Alec had braced for the press of the knife, putting up the strongest block he could muster against Jace so his parabatai wouldn’t have to endure the pain. Jace wouldn’t know that Sir wasn’t going to cut it out, just cause him pain, and Alec couldn’t bear the thought of the panic that would rush through him at the feeling. He hadn’t been able to feel Jace since he got here but he had the feeling that Jace could feel him. All this went out the window the moment Sir started cutting and Alec didn’t even have the agency to know that the blood curdling screams were coming from his, let alone maintain a block._

There were countless nicks all over his torso from where Sir had cut him just enough to get his attention.

_Alec wasn’t sure when the hunger and dehydration had gotten to him or even when he’d fallen unconscious but he woke with a start when a sharp pain dug into his sternum. “Ah ah, I didn’t say you could fall asleep. Am I boring you? I’m sure we could liven things up.”_

There were the small but deep marks scattered around the softer sections of his belly.

_“I hear you prefer bows. Wonder how many Downworlders’ last thoughts were the pain of your arrow in their stomach.” Alec hadn’t been able to protest that he _didn’t_ kill Downworlders before an arrow was being slammed into him - by hand at least._

Alec couldn’t let himself dwell on the crescents on his hips of fingernails that had dug deep and remained there.

He couldn’t think about the lines criss crossing the base of his neck that had let his throat and mouth fill with blood before a shock of green light healed them just in time to pull Alec away from the edge, over and over and over again.

“Just do it.” Alec grit his teeth, pressing his fingers into his shirt to have something to hold on to. Magnus had looked increasingly weary but reached up a hand to gently smooth over the rough lettering on his chest.

Alec gripped his shirt so hard that when Magnus ran his fingers lightly over the last stretch of uncomfortably smooth, purpling skin, his arms were trembling.

“I think that’s good for now. I don’t want to touch your stitches and get them infected.” Magnus murmured. It was a cop out since Alec was already on so many antibiotics for the infection in the leg that Magnus joked there couldn’t possibly be a single bacteria left on him. But Alec’s breathing was growing concerningly panicky and there was a clammy sweat covering his whole body.

Alec nodded weakly and scrambled to pull his shirt back on before falling into Magnus’ offered embrace. He struggled to catch his breath, desperately wanting to avoid a full blown panic attack but it’s grasp seemed to be growing on him as Sir’s voice grew in his ears.

“Easy, darling, you’re alright. You did so good. I’m proud of you.” Magnus’ loving words fell into his ears, drowning out the sound of Sir as Alec latched onto them. Alec felt Magnus’ shirt begin to dampen and realized he’d started to cry. Emotion overwhelmed him but the panic had started to abate. Magnus was right there. He’d be alright. He couldn’t not be alright when Magnus was giving him such gentle affection and making sure Alec knew he was safe. Maybe he would be alright. Later, perhaps, he’d feel proud of himself for taking this step but right now all he felt was utter exhaustion as the tension slowly drained from his body.

“Thank you.” He whispered against Magnus’ neck.

“Of course, sweetheart.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the lovely comments!


	16. Pinned Down - Day 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! This was inspired by that trend on tiktok of protective boyfriends meeting abusive exs. I think it's clear but if not, this is a mundane college AU. Hope you like it!

“I’m just saying that there’s no point in decaf.” Alec insisted, nursing his cardboard cup, relishing in the last of its warmth that seeped into his bare hands. Despite New York’s winter chill that threatened to bite, Alec felt warmer than ever. A glow seemed to radiate from the inside out and he felt _happy_. They’d somehow found themselves alone as they walked through a secluded part of Central Park on the coldest day of the year and Alec felt as though he could burst with a giddy joy that had filled him.

“Alexander, it’s truly unbelievable that we’ve been dating for almost two years now and you still insist that ‘the purpose of coffee is to wake you up.’” Magnus put on a mimicking tone, cradling his own sinfully sugary latte in gloved hands. “I’ll instill taste in you one of these days.”

“Hey!” Alec laughed, “I must have taste, I’m dating you aren’t I?”

“Ah, this is true.” Magnus grinned back at him, leaning in for a warm kiss that combined to taste of black coffee and sugar. “Your taste in men may be refined but your taste in coffee is less than optimal.”

“As much as I want to stay here and be bullied about my coffee preferences, I have an essay due soon. Walk me to my apartment?” Alec said regretfully, only a few centimeters from Magnus’ lips as the snow flurried around them.

Magnus pressed another sweet his against Alec’s lips before turning to throw away their empty cups, taking Alec’s hand as they headed towards the direction of his campus. “I thought you said the essay was due next week?”

“It is,” Alec replied easily, eyeing Magnus with a playful suspicion.

“Then why,” Magnus whined, drawing out the ‘y’,”are you holing up with the dark library with a computer when you could be spending it with your wonderful boyfriend and his optimal coffee preferences?”

“I’m sorry some of us like to get things done early.” Alec teased, gently nudging Magnus in the ribs with his elbow, although the motion lacked any bite or effect considering they were each bundled in so many layers.

Magnus laughed and Alec wrapped an arm around his waist, pulling him closer. They walked like that for a few blocks before arriving outside the crumbly brick exterior of Alec’s apartment.

“Thanks for walking me home. See you tomorrow?” Alec couldn’t help the lovesick grin that spread across his face as he turned to face Magnus, a ray of the happy warmth seeming to seep out of him. However, as he turned, his expression dropped so quickly that Magnus’ immediately looked behind himself for whatever was so distressing Alec.

“What’s wrong?” Magnus quickly took Alec’s hands but Alec suddenly felt numb. All the warmth seemed to have seeped out of him and had been replaced with an icy slush that surged through his veins. “Sweetheart, you’re shaking.”

“I- uh-” Alec stuttered, unable to tear his eyes away from the boy in the red jacket who seemed to have spotted them from across the street and was making his way over far too rapidly for Alec’s liking.

Magnus opened his mouth to speak again but before he could, the boy approached them with an unnerving grin.

“Alexander! It’s been too long.” He opened his arms for a hug and moved to hug Alec, who was frozen as he stood, his muscles clenching painfully from the tension that paralyzed him.

Magnus had released Alec’s hand so the stranger could hug him but as he did so, Alec’s brain screamed at him not to let go and gripped Magnus’ fingers so tightly he was sure circulation must have been cut off. He looked over the boys shoulder with such a desperate expression that Magnus sharply cleared his throat, prompting the boy to release him.

“I don’t believe we’ve met.” Magnus said in a cold tone. Alec’s heart tightened with love as Magnus seemed to raise his defenses, not quite believing that Magnus seemed to have already made up his mind on this person despite them being perfect stranger, based on Alec’s reaction alone.

Well. They weren’t complete strangers. Magnus had heard many a story about him as he cradled Alec, teary, close to his chest in the middle of the night and let him cry as he spoke of the boy who had claimed to love him but had hurt him in every way possible.

“Come on, Alexander,” The boy kept his unnerving gaze fixed firmly on Alec’s face, “Why don’t you introduce your old friends.”

Alec didn’t think he could speak. His whole body was frozen and a chill seemed to have seeped down his spine and rendered him shaky and unsteady. Somehow, he forced out, “Magnus, this is… This is Shaun. Sh- Shaun this is Magnus.” He’d unconsciously inched closer to Magnus so their arms were pressed firmly against each other.

Alec could see the wave of realization twist Magnus’ face as he remembered all the times Alec had flinched away from a raised hand or trembled through a loving touch. It hadn’t happened in so long but a shock of anger crossed Magnus expression.

Shaun eyed them momentarily before returning his gaze to Alec, who struggled to force down the bile rising in his throat as Shaun’s gaze seemed to slide down him before coming back up to his face. “You didn’t tell me you got a new boyfriend Alexander.”

“It’s none of your business.” Magnus replied sharply, squeezing Alec’s hand.

Shaun let out a huff of a laugh, glancing behind Alec to the building before coming back to his face. “Still living here, huh? How’s 204 treating you? Stove still acting up?”

Alec’s muscles seemed to clench of their own volition as his room number came from Shauns mouth and a long healed series of three parallel, curved lines of marred skin seemed to burn on Alec’s forearm. He grabbed his arm seemingly on instinct, gripping Magnus’ hand tighter. “It’s good.” He forced out through grit teeth, suddenly feeling lightheaded.

“Very fucking funny.” Magnus spat out, dropping Alec’s hand and surging forward before Alec caught him by the arm.

“Don’t.” Alec hurried, anxiety tightening his stomach. Shaun was horrible but he didn’t want Magnus getting into a fight on his behalf.

Shaun hadn’t even flinched but Magnus halted when Alec grabbed him. Alec could feel the fury coming off him in waves and a flicker of fear crossed his mind before fizzling out. It was just Magnus. He was protecting you, not hurting you.

“Come on, sweetheart.” Magnus wrapped an arm around Alec protectively and began to usher him towards the steps of the apartment. Alec leaned into the touch gratefully. He was painfully on edge and the familiar embrace was comforting.

They’d gotten halfway up the stairs when Shaun yelled from behind them, taunting, “Be good for him Alexander. Remember what_ I_ taught you.”

Alec’s blood ran cold as memories of hearing that same taunting voice tell him to be good ran through his vision, feeling phantom hands grabbing and hurting him. The sound of skin hitting skin and an angry yell pulled him back to reality. He didn’t have a chance to react before Magnus was gone from his side. He spun around and darted after Magnus, who had Shaun, dazed and blood dripping from his nose, pinned up against the wall of the apartment building.

“If you _ever_ come near him again I swear to every god above you won’t be leaving with all your limbs attached. I’ll take every shitty thing you did to him and make sure you feel it tenfold. Clear?” Magnus hissed, an angry flush creeping up his neck as he shook Shaun, dissatisfied with the speed of his response.

Shaun nodded, still dazed from being hit, and Magnus shoved him away, practically glowing with fury as he stalked back towards Alec. His demeanor changed, becoming softer and protective, as he wrapped his arm back around Alec and ushered him inside the building.

Alec unlocked his apartment with trembling hands, echoes of Shaun’s voice taunting him with his door number ringing in his ears. Alec hesitated in the doorway and from behind him heard Magnus softly say, “I know you have your essay but I’ll stay if you want me to. I can be quiet. I just don’t want you to be scared, you’re not alone.”

Alec released a weak exhale and turned around, sinking into Magnus’ offered embrace. “Please do.” The warmth was beginning to seep back into his bones and, as he soaked in the familiar, soothing touch, the phantom pains in long healed scars abated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the lovely comments!


	17. *Infection - Alt. Prompt - Day 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another shorter boy but I wanted something softer today. Hope you enjoy it!

Magnus carefully ran the cotton swab along the wound, soaking up the last of the puss when from above him, Alec stifled a weak noise into his hand. 

“Do you need to take a break?” Magnus’ eyes flickered up to Alec, who had turned a sickly ashen gray. 

Alec rapidly shook his head but Magnus sat back on his heels anyway. Alec was shaking like a leaf and whiteknuckling the edge of the kitchen chair. He was otherwise painfully still and it made Magnus feel ill to think of what he had been through to make him act this way. 

He gently took Alec’s hands and pressed gentle kisses to his knuckles, speaking softly against them, “You’re doing good. I know it hurts.” 

Alec let out a weak breath that Magnus thought was probably the first breath he had released since they started. “I can take it.” His voice wobbled, though, as he spoke. 

“I know.” Magnus replied, looking back up Alec’s unnaturally pale face. Since Magnus had stopped cleaning the wound, some color had returned to him. 

He let Alec take a moment to breathe, holding his hands comfortingly. He knew showing his wounds and scars was hard on Alec but the stitched up knife wound on his leg was purple and pussing and needed to be cleaned. Worse for him, though, was having to sit in front of Magnus in just a shirt and his boxers. 

Alec had tried to clean it himself but his hands trembled so violently that he could barely hold the cotton swab. He’d barely been able to spit out through grit teeth that it dragged up too many memories. It made Magnus’ heart ache to cause Alec pain but if it made Alec’s life easier, he’d do it. 

Magnus had then tried to use magic. However, they quickly realized when Alec started to scream that the warlock had done his own magic. As Magnus placed a gentle hand on Alec’s leg and the first inklings of blue light had begun to pour into his skin, screams that turned into awful, pained sobs seemed to rip from his mouth involuntarily as the kind of pain that can only be brought with magic spread through him like fire. Magnus had been powerless to help and could only soothe and comfort, waiting it out as Alec writhed and begged for it to stop. 

“Just finish… please.” Alec asked softly now, eyes pained. 

Magnus wanted to argue but nodded. He knew it was important for Alec to have as much agency over his body as possible. If that meant pushing through the pain, Magnus would follow him. 

Magnus picked up a clean cotton swab and dipped it in the pot of salve by his leg, gingerly running it over the angry, red skin on Alec’s thigh. He winced when a tiny pained noise came from Alec above him. 

“I’m sorry.” He whispered, “I’m almost done. I don’t want to hurt you.” 

Magnus did his best to hurry, anger blooming in his stomach the way it always did when he saw the extent of what the warlock had inflicted on Alec. He carefully bandaged up Alec’s leg once more and snapped his fingers to clothe Alec in his sweatpants once more. 

“Doesn’t hurt.” Alec finally said, squeezing his eyes shut with relief. That made Magnus’ heart ache. Alec had stuttered out once when Magnus was cleaning the stitches on his back that pain wasn’t the problem. It did hurt but what made him shake and whimper was the memory that the pain dragged up of sitting on the cold concrete floor, knife firmly embedded in his leg. He could take the pain but not memories that came with it. 

Magnus set his tools to the side and stood, pressing a gentle kiss to Alec’s hair. “You did good, you did so good.” Alec had always thrived off of praise and the words seemed to bring him comfort now as he leaned heavily against Magnus, still seated, wrapping his arms around his waist and pressing his face against Magnus’ belly, whispering against him. “Thank you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the lovely comments!


	18. Muffled Scream - Day 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really like how this one turned out! Hope you guys do too!

A final flash of Isabelle’s whip dealt the killing blow and just like that, the battle was over. The demon’s falcon head snapped back in an ear-splitting screech and suddenly, the monster dissipated into dust that soon fell away into nothingness as the tentacles that had previously been restraining Alec’s wrists some fifteen feet in the air disappeared. 

Alec fell hard and yelled as he hit the concrete floor of the alleyway with a sickening thud. He remained motionless and immediately, Isabelle, Jace, and Magnus rushed to his side. Jace rolled Alec onto his back, a bit roughly in his panic, but they all breathed a sigh of relief as Alec blinked his eyes open weakly. 

Alec’s whole body ached with vigor but worst of all were his shoulders. The first had been ripped out of its socket when the demon had grabbed him and dragged him into the air. He’d been too caught up in the pain and sudden drop to realise when the other had suffered the same fate, but it was likely when he fell on it. 

He was suddenly struck with an almost painful, gripping fear that his shoulders had been broken. An iratze could do a lot but they weren’t miracles and something like that could take a long time to heal or even do irreparable damage. It could render him useless with a bow. All over a low-level demon, his career as a Shadowhunter, gone. 

Alec opened his mouth to try to express his fear but as he looked up into the blurry - was he crying? - faces of his siblings and Magnus, all he could breathlessly cough out was, “H-Hurts.” He heard them saying something to each other but darkness had edged into the corners of his vision and he wanted so badly to fall into it. 

“Alec? Alec, hey, buddy.” Jace was speaking to him. Alec forced open his eyes again and looked up at the strained face of his parabatai, only just remembering that he would be in just as much pain as Alec was. Alec weakly tried to pull up a block but Jace quickly said, “Hey, hey it’s ok. You don’t need to do that. Save your strength. We attracted a lot of attention with that thing and we’re going to need to get out of here fast but we can’t move you like this. We’re going to need to pop your shoulders back into place, ok?”

Alec squeezed his eyes shut and nodded, feeling a hot tear slide down one side of his face as he braces himself for the pain to come. He heard Jace say, “Alright, I’m gonna help you sit up now.” With a combination of his abdominal muscles and Jace’s help, he managed to sit up without much more than a groan. 

Alec tried to breathe through the pain but ended up with harsh, gasping breaths as he eyed Isabelle and Magnus in front of him. He heard Jace say, “I’ll be right back. Gonna check for mundane attention.” With that, he was gone. 

“I’ll put it back in place. Keep him quiet.” Isabelle said grimly, settling by Alec’s side. 

Magnus straddled Alec’s thighs and conjured a rag, wadding up a section and placing it in Alec’s mouth to bite down on. He let Alec lean forward, pressing his tear stained face against Magnus’ chest. He knew Magnus’ sitting on him served the dual purpose of comfort as well as keeping him still and stable but he was still grateful for the grounding touch as the pain threatened to carry him away. 

“Ok. One… Two…” Without saying three, Isabelle jerked Alec’s shoulder back into it’s socket the way they’d practiced countless times in training. Alec screamed, muffled by the cloth but quickly quieted himself, instead falling into silent sobs as Magnus murmured to him praise that fell on deaf ears. 

His shoulder still ached but the pain was distant and dull now and Alec felt himself slowly coming back into himself, the other shoulder still sending shocks of agony through him. As Isabelle moved to his other side and bile threatened to rise in his throat at the thought of going through relocating the other shoulder. He tried instead to focus on Magnus brushing through his sweaty hair and murmuring, “You’re alright, you’re doing so well. I know it hurts, sweetheart, but you’re doing so well.” He suddenly seized the opportunity to bring up his newly healed arm to press against Magnus’ back, gripping his shirt. His shoulder gave a dull ache as he did so but he could barely feel it over everything that was happening. 

“Ok, one more, you’re doing great Alec.” Isabelle didn’t give him a count down this time, taking advantage of Alec’s momentary distraction to shove the other shoulder into place. Another awful scream ripped out of Alec as he grit his teeth so hard he was sure they would have cracked if the rag wasn’t there to protect them. The hand of the arm that had just been fixed flew up to grab at Magnus’ back, trying to steady his ragged breathing as it began to settle into him that he wasn’t hurting anymore. 

Magnus and Isabelle gave him a moment to recover before the tell tale sound of Jace sprinting towards them drew them back to the moment. “We gotta go  _ now _ .” He yelled and suddenly, Magnus’ comforting weight was off of him and Alec scrambled to his feet, spitting out the rag as he weakly rotated his shoulders. They were certainly sore but it was nothing compared to before. 

Magnus’ hands flew as blue light suddenly shot out at the wall and a portal opened to the steps of the Institute. Alec realized he was trembling as they all rushed through, his body still shaken from the intense pain. As Jace and Isabelle ran through the doors to the Institute to update Underhill on the status of the mundane alarm, Alec leaned against the stone guardrail, needing a moment. Just a moment to catch his breath and still his shaking. 

Magnus leaned in and pressed a gentle kiss to Alec’s hair before quickly putting a step of space between them, knowing Alec was shy about showing affection in the Institute. Alec couldn’t help the smile that quirked on his mouth and, after a few moments, he reached out and squeezed Magnus’ hand before following after his siblings.  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thanks for the comments!


	19. Breathless - Alt. Prompt - Day 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was in the mood for a gentle sickfic so here we are! Hope you like it! I know you can't actually lower a fever by lowering someones outside body temperature but it's so much more fun than giving them a pill and sending them to bed.

Magnus wasn’t sure why he had decided to trudge home from his client’s home that day rather than portaling. He’d been exhausted but Alexander wasn’t due home until late that night so he had supposed he might as well waste a little extra time by walking. His day had been boringly uneventful to the point of frustration and he couldn’t wait for his husband to tumble through the door, even if he did it while covered in ichor and tracking in mud. 

Magnus smiled as he thought of the familiar way Alexander shed his gear as he walked through the house and in the morning, Magnus would magic it all into a pile by the door, but neither could be bothered as they embraced after a long day of being apart.

However, as he approached the door, the locks automatically opening for him, he felt the hair on his arms prick uncomfortably as his wards warned him there was someone in his house. Magnus internally groaned. He just wanted to make dinner and sit in front of the couch, but he readied an offensive spell in one hand and blew open the door with the other. As he stood in the doorway, adrenaline racing, he was met with absolutely nothing. No one was there. Magnus ran through a quick check of his wards and they insisted that someone was in the living room but nothing seemed out of place. 

Magnus warily entered the room but quickly sighed and dissipated his spell as he realized what was making his alarms sound. Alexander was peacefully asleep on the couch, face pressed into it’s backing. Magnus frowned a bit now, though, wondering why Alexander was home so early and why he had passed out without even removing his gear. 

Magnus reached out to touch Alec’s shoulder and quickly realized what was wrong. Even before placing a hand on him, heat radiated from Alec like a fire. Magnus gently touched Alec’s shoulder, prompting him to shift uncomfortable and give a soft, snuffly sniffle. 

Magnus’ face softened as Alec slowly blinked awake, a feverish flush on his face. He suddenly remembered thinking Alec had been unusually quiet the night before. He’d fallen asleep at nine even before Magnus had finished showering. Magnus’ heart gave a faint ache at the thought that he must have not been feeling well but didn’t want to say anything. 

“You’re home.” Alec gave a faint, relieved smile and slowly sat up, pressing a hand to his head. 

“You have a fever.” Magnus replied, sitting next to Alec in the newly unoccupied space. 

“Isabelle sent me home. I'm alright,” Alec said automatically, leaning wearily into Magnus’ shoulder and closing his eyes again, sniffling. 

“I know.” Magnus kissed Alec’s hair and let him rest for a minute before saying, “We should get you in a cool bath to try to bring your fever down.”  Alec made a noise of protest but didn’t move or open his eyes. Magnus rubbed over his back but Alec squirmed, making a face, and Magnus realized the touch was probably uncomfortable with his skin aching from fever, stilling his hand. 

“Come on love. We’ll go to bed right after.” Magnus promised and slowly stood, helping Alec up as well and waiting a moment as Alec made a strained face, the pressure in his head presumably hurting as he got up. 

They walked slowly to the bathroom. Magnus felt terrible for Alec. He always did his best to hide any symptoms of sickness, even from his husband, so he must be feeling truly miserable to be acting this way. 

Alec was out of breath by the time they finished the short walk to the bathroom and was breathing heavily as he sat down on the closed toilet seat and wrapped his arms around himself to try to ward away the shivers that plagued him even in the warm room. 

Magnus snapped his fingers and immediately, the tub filled with slightly cooler than room temperature water. With another flourish of his fingers, the water suddenly tinged a cloudy blue as Magnus combined in a potion to help Alec feel a bit better. 

Alec had slowly began taking off his gear but he was shivering and it made it hard to undo the straps that seemed to be covering him. Magnus hurried over, seeing him struggle, hurried over and began to help him. It was much more efficient seeing as how Alec seemed to be dazed with fever and was moving far more slowly than usual. 

Eventually, all of Alec’s clothes and gear was in a pile on the floor and Magnus ushered him towards the tub. Alec still had his arms wrapped firmly around himself but he let go to hold onto Magnus’ arm, steadying himself as he slowly stepped into the tub. 

A soft huff left him as he gingerly sat, whining, “It’s cold.” 

“I know. It’s only for a bit to try to get your temperature down, love. You're burning up.” Magnus brushed back Alec’s sweaty hair and let Alec lean against the edge of the tub and rest his head against Magnus’ shoulder, closing his eyes. 

He’d started to shiver with a renewed vigor and Magnus’ stomach twisted, worried for his boy even if he knew it was just a virus. 

For a while, Magnus thought Alec may have fallen asleep against him but eventually, the silence was broken when Alec quietly said, “Can I get out now?” 

Magnus pulled back gently, looking Alec over. He was still shivering, probably from the cool water at this point, but his face had regained a more regular color than the sickly grey that had taken over him as they walked to the bathroom. 

“Yeah, come on, I’ll help you up.” Magnus stood first and offered his arms to let Alec help himself into a standing position. He briefly looked a bit sick as he readjusted to standing but quickly stepped out of the tub, letting Magnus magic him dry and into a pair of soft pajama pants. 

The walk back to bed seemed to completely drain him and as Alec finally sat on the edge of it, he seemed breathless. Magnus stayed with him, hovering anxiously as he caught his breath, before helping him ease down and pulled the blankets over him. Alec fell asleep immediately but Magnus fussed over him for a bit longer, conjuring water and some medicine to set by his bedside in case he woke up needing anything. 

Eventually, Magnus got in bed and cuddled up to Alec, wanting to be close even if the proximity to his feverish body made Magnus start sweating too. He knew it was just a sickness but Magnus couldn’t help but worry over Alec when anything was wrong. He spent a few more minutes carefully watching Alec’s snuffly breaths but eventually fell asleep himself, soothed by the steady sight of his chest rising and falling.   
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the comments!!!


	20. Trembling - Day 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello I'm Weak for Jace being a good parabatai as you've probably already seen. Anyway, this weeks prompts may be a bit shorter because my profs and also life collectively said 'lets not give this bitch a break' Hope you like it!

Alec wasn’t sure when he had come to. He wasn’t sure of anything. The last thing he remembered was an awful, sudden pain and then nothing. He tried to sit up but quickly found himself strapped to the infirmary cot by leather buckles. The first throes of anxiety began to clench at his stomach but as he frantically looked around, he found no one. 

He was aching all over but he couldn’t remember what had lead to this situation. Somehow that was scarier than whatever had happened. 

Alec was about to call for help when out of nowhere, a horrible, all consuming pain seemed to course through him. He couldn’t help the scream that ripped from him, having not expected it. He arched off the bed as best he could given the restraint wrapped around his stomach and every muscle in his body tensed so tightly he was sure they would snap. The pain was gone as soon as it came but it left him breathless and teary with panic as he struggled to inhale, trembling violently. 

Alec felt a familiar push against his parabatai bond.  _ Jace.  _ Alec was becoming more and more desperate as he pulled against the restraints, desperately wanting to be free, but the familiar feeling comforted him just a bit. 

Alec nearly jumped out of his skin when the door to the infirmary flew open and Magnus sprinted in, looking absolutely wild. 

“Oh sweetheart, you’re awake, I’m so sorry I wasn’t here.” He was out of breath as he approached Alec’s bed and hovered anxiously by him, reaching out automatically to take Alec’s hand. However, as he was about to make contact, Magnus hesitated, suddenly looking nervous. 

“What happened?” Alec rasped out, heart aching as Magnus seemed to think better of taking his hand. He wanted the touch desperately. He was hurting and confused and  _ scared _ and he just wanted to hold Magnus’ hand. 

Magnus’ face softened and he glanced to Alec’s hand before looking back up at him, “You don’t remember? There were demons in Times Square but they were new and different and they-” Magnus voice cracked but suddenly, the memory came flooding back to Alec. 

They’d been feeding off the electricity in the square and Alec and his siblings had been sent with a team to apprehend them before they would wreck too much damage on the mundanes. One had been about to grab one of the recruits, Jason. It was his first big mission and he’d been nervous. He’d stopped to help up an older mundane woman and would have been killed if Alec hadn’t-

“-you jumped in front of him and it grabbed you and you started seizing. They thought you weren’t going to make it but they wouldn’t let me come see you before the demons were dealt with and i thought- I thought I wasn’t going to see you ag-” Magnus’ voice had grown thick with emotion and Alec thought he saw the beginnings of tears in his eyes but before he could ask about it, the pain came back, sudden and agonizing. 

Alec didn’t realize he was screaming until the pain was gone and he sobbed weakly against it. Every muscle in his body was tight and he felt himself trembling violently against his restraints as he struggled to breathe. He looked at Magnus, eyes wide with panic but found he couldn’t speak. 

“Hey, shhh, shhh, it’s ok, it’ll pass. You’re alright, darling.” Magnus soothed, grabbing Alec’s hand seemingly on instinct. The touch was like a breath of air and Alec calmed slightly, trying to flex his fingers to grip Magnus’ hand in return. “The demons seem to have a strange poison but instead of the usual effects, it’s like the victim is being shocked. That’s why you’re restrained, they didn’t want you hurting yourself.” 

Alec tried to speak but a lone, weak sob left him instead. He didn’t realize it was going to come out of him until it did and he felt a vague wash of shame that he couldn’t handle this but he was so overwhelmed with pain and emotions that he couldn’t control it. 

After a moment, his muscles seemed to relax and he glanced down to where Magnus’ hand was glowing a light blue, gripping Alec’s. He thought faintly that Magnus must have been protecting himself against the shocks but found he had a hard time dwelling on any given thought. He weakly squeezed Magnus’ hand as he felt Jace push against him again in a soothing gesture. 

“Where’s Jace and Isabelle?” Alec managed. 

“Taking care of clean up. They’re worried about you.” Magnus replied. He was quiet for a moment before starting again, “I don’t- I don’t know if I can do anything about the venom but I can’t see you in so much pain. I can try but..” 

Alec understood his hesitance. Taking out regular venom was like a culmination of the worst pain the venom could inflict but then it was over and he’d be alright. This was so much worse than anything he’d ever experienced and he didn’t know if he could handle the extraction but at least then it would be over and he wouldn’t have to be tied down, waiting for the next bout of agony. 

“Do it.” Alec finally whispered, “Please. Don’t stop even if I ask.” 

Magnus had gone pale but he nodded firmly, setting his jaw. “I’m sorry, sweetheart.” He leaned forward and pressed a quick kiss to Alec’s clammy forehead before straightening. Alec braced himself, staring resolutely at the ceiling as he flexed his hands, searching for something to hold on to but finding nothing. 

Then Magnus was speaking in a language Alec didn’t understand and every muscle in Alec’s body contracted in agony. The previous episodes were nothing compared to this and he didn’t even hear himself scream as he arched off the bed, straining against his restraints. It seemed to drag on forever but eventually, the pain began to abate and Alec realized he was babbling absolute nonsense. Every once in a while, a recognizable plea of Magnus’ name or a pitiful ‘ _ stop _ ’ could be heard but the rest wasn’t any known language.

As the pain left him, Alec was trembling violently and sobbing weakly but it was over. He vaguely recognized Magnus unclipping the straps that bound him but Alec didn’t think he could move if he wanted to. 

When he was free, Magnus appeared back in his blurry field of vision and a cool hand pressed against his feverish face, sending a gentle flow of magic into him. Alec leaned into the familiar feeling of Magnus’ magic as he struggled to get himself under control but found that suddenly, it was easier. The pain and emotions were ebbing away, leaving him utterly exhausted but alright. 

“Easy, darling, you went into shock for a second but everything’s ok. How do you feel?” Magnus murmured. 

Alec blinked away the tears and reached a trembling hand to find Magnus’. Jace was pushing against him with fever now and Alec, feeling his worry, pushed back just enough to let him know he was alright. His voice came out shaky and weaker than he expected,”B-Better.” 

Magnus didn’t look convinced but Alec squeezed his hand to reassure him. He did feel better. The vague ache was beginning to fade but it was replaced with a bone deep exhaustion. Magnus had conjured a chair and Alec weakly rolled onto his side so he could face Magnus. 

“Th-thank you.” Alec’s voice came out shaky but stronger than before. 

“Of course, sweetheart.” Magnus must have seen Alec’s eyes slipping shut of their own accord because he followed with, “Sleep, love, I’ll be right here when you wake up.”    
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the comments!


	21. *Laced Drink - Day 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A look into what happened when Alec was kidnapped

Alec shuddered through each slow, weary breath, certain and grateful that any of them could be his last. The cold concrete, slick with his blood, dug into his knees and he slumped so his back was against the wall, unable to hold himself up. It wasn’t comfortable, kneeling with his hands bound and leaning back, but he didn’t think he could move if he wanted. 

Sir cackled from above him. “Can’t take anymore Shadowhunter?”

Alec’s eyes were glassy and unfocused and he’d started trembling long ago but he forced out, “No, Sir.” It was barely audible, but he replied. Sir couldn’t punish him for behaving, right?

Sir tossed his knife up into the air, wiggling his fingers to clean the blood dripping down it and catching it as it came down. Alec might have flinched if he had any more energy or awareness but found he felt comfortingly disconnected from the world around him. 

He coughed weakly, managing to spit out some blood but it only dripped down his chin, mingling with the fresh blood that was already coating his front. Alec had lost count of how many times Sir had slit his throat and let him gasp and struggle for breath before healing him in a complicated hand gesture just as the edges of Alec’s vision had begun to go black, ripping him from blissed unconsciousness. 

“Look like you could use some water.” 

Alec’s gaze had focused on the floor, hazy and barely aware. He felt a twinge of desperation as Sir uttered the word water. He didn’t know when the last time he had drunk anything had been and his whole body ached with desperation from it. 

“You know, Shadowhunter,” Sir’s legs suddenly appeared in his lowered field of vision, a cup of water just edging into view. “There were times when you would throw away the very cups and plates I used for fear of contamination.” 

Had Alec been in his right mind, he would have protested, saying that things were still bad but they were getting better. That he wasn’t like his ancestors. That he himself couldn’t stand the thought of them. That he was sorry. But it felt as though his body were shutting down and he couldn’t utter a sound. 

Suddenly the cup was pressed forcefully against his mouth and tipped back. The first streams poured down Alec’s face, washing away in streams of red, as he struggled to come to and understand what was happening. He managed to get his mouth open and drank a few gulps before there was too much all at once and he was coughing and spluttering as water invaded his nose and poured down his face. He coughed weakly a few times, spitting pink tinged water out. 

A sharp slap suddenly rang out as Alec’s head snapped to the side, a bloom of harsh pain exploding in his face and neck. “I was kind enough to give you water and you spit it out?” came Sir’s harsh vice from above him. 

The worst was that Alec didn’t even have it in him to be angry. He was completely numb to everything except the utter fear that had crawled up the back of his throat and threatened to make him throw up the water he’d been gifted. 

“S-S-s….” Alec stuttered out, trying to apologize, but suddenly his body felt incredibly heavy and he felt his eyes sliding shut as his head began to drop. He felt a twinge of fear in his stomach as he recognized the familiar nausea of being drugged. He didn’t have time to think about what would be happening when he woke up before he was soundly unconscious.    
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the comments!!!


	22. *Hallucinations - Day 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Had kind of a hard time getting this one out but here he is! Hope you like it

It had been nearly a year since the last time Alec was sick. A year since Magnus had woken up only to find Alec in the bathroom, a glowing seraph blade at his side as he retched into the toilet, bandages still encircling his raw wrists. 

They’d come a long way in a year. Alec still had nightmares but not like before. He’d wake up himself, shaky but able to easily fall back asleep. He’d returned to more or less regular life at the Institute. He didn’t need constant touch from Magnus to reassure him of his presence. 

Then Alec got sick again. 

Magnus woke up to a feeling that was familiar but that he hadn’t felt in a long time. A body, trembling against his in the darkness. A pit formed in his stomach as he slowly sat up, trying to take in what was happening. Alec was already sitting up, curled in a tight ball as his body shuddered with sobs. 

Magnus settled against Alec and gently placed a hand on his arm, guilt knotting in his throat as Alec flinched, head snapping up at the touch. A look of utter relief spread across Alec’s face as he sunk into Magnus’ open arms, frantically tripping over his words as they came out absolutely incomprehensible. 

Magnus’ stomach sank as he felt the heat coming off of Alec’s skin and rubbed over his back. “Easy, sweetheart, everything’s alright. It’s just me. What’s got you so upset?” He soothed, kissing over Alec’s damp hair. 

Alec had given up on trying to speak and had instead dissolved into weak sobs as he clutched the back of Magnus’ shirt, still trembling like a leaf. 

“I- He- Sir-” 

Magnus barely understood the word as it came out but a shock of fury shot through him at the mention of the warlock’s self-proclaimed name. They had tried to get Alec to call him by his given name, Blaise, but Alec had always looked so wary and nervous at the prospect that the matter had been dropped. It didn’t matter anyway. He’d been dealt with. It didn’t stop the pure anger that gripped Magnus everytime he was brought up. 

“He’s  _ here _ ” Alec suddenly wailed against Magnus, holding on to him so tight that Magnus was sure his shirt would rip. 

“He’s not here, darling. It’s just me. We’re home, in the loft and you’re safe.” Magnus murmured but Alec only repeated himself insistently until he suddenly sat up, pulling himself away from Magnus’s tight embrace. For a moment, a pair of wide, fearful blue eyes were set on Magnus, searching over his face but not seeming to find anything before sliding to settle against the empty back wall over Magnus’ shoulder. 

“Please, no, no, no, no, no-” Alec’s face crumpled as he stared at the perceived threat so intently that Magnus had to catch himself from looking over his shoulder. Alec was grasping at Magnus’ shirt and at his arms, frantic and Magnus took a breath, firmly reminding himself that Alec was just severely feverish and that they were alright. 

“Hey, hey, it’s ok. Look at me, Alexander.” He said softly, purposefully using Alec’s name with the knowledge that Blaise had only referred to him as Shadowhunter. Alec didn’t seem to hear him but Magnus continued to gently repeat himself until Alec’s gaze flickered onto him and then slowly remained trained on him, although he shook with fear and his eyes twitched as though he wanted to look back at the perceived threat. 

“Just look at me until it goes away. I’m right here. I won’t let anything happen to you.” Magnus murmured, continuing to stare intently into Alec’s eyes as he brought his hands up to gently cup his burning face. Alec was ashen with an uncomfortable, feverish flush across his cheeks and the heat felt like it would burn Magnus’ hands but he continued to speak, gently soothing Alec as he began to infuse magic into his words. Small blue sparks began to fly from his hands as Alec trembled with the effort of staying focused on him but, after a moment, the tension seemed to slowly drain out of Alec’s body and suddenly, he wasn’t nearly as warm as before. 

“Magnus,” Alec stuttered out, eyes flicking across his face with understanding as some color began to return to him. 

“I’m here.” Magnus promised, nearly weak with relief that his magic had done its job. 

“I thought he was- I thought Sir-” Alec tried, voice faltering as his gaze turned behind Magnus before coming back to him. 

“You had a fever and I think you started hallucinating. You’re still warm but I got it down a little.” Magnus smiled softly at him, trying to be reassuring as he covered Alec in familiar, comforting touches of running his hands up and down his back. 

Alec opened his mouth to speak but instead fell back into Magnus’ arms, pressing his face against his neck as the last shocks of anxiety passed through him. 

Magnus knew he should have been relieved that Alec was alright once more and that the rest of his fever could be brought down with mundane medicine but the thought still nagged at the back of his mind. He would never expect Alec to be healed from the trauma he had withstood only a year ago and yet, the thought that Blaise still plagued him so severely made his whole body ache with grief and guilt. It had been a year but perhaps, they hadn’t come nearly as far as it seemed.    
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks as always for the comments!


	23. Fist Fight - alt. prompt - day 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW for homophobic language!  
I don't love this chapter but I think it came out alright. Fight scenes are hard. I can't believe october is almost over i don't know what im going to do without the daily prompt. Maybe work on my WIPS for once lmao

Alec had always been above fighting mundanes. Even when they were fifteen and an older man had whistled at Izzy as they prowled through the city on their first patrols. Jace had pushed up his sleeves and the man had begun to look nervous but Alec had talked Jace down, telling him the man wasn’t worth it. Alec had been disgusted too, of course, but Isabelle hadn’t been bothered. She’d rolled her eyes and replied with a snide comment but had been ready to move along. Only Jace had stopped them, fury barely suppressed that someone would do that to his sister. Alec had lowered his voice and firmly reminded Jace that this was  _ not a fair fight  _ and the night continued with a pair of Shax demons slayed with perhaps more force than necessary. 

When they were older and Jace’s anger and indignance at the world had expressed itself through drunken fights, Alec was always the one to show up and soothe the situation, somehow extracting Jace from the situation as he explained to the patrons that he was very sorry for his brother’s behavior. As he looped an arm around Jace and dragged him back to the Institute, Jace would yell and gripe about why didn’t Alec have his back and together they could have taken down the whole bar. Alec’s heart would ache at the idea that Jace, even though he was drunk out of his mind, would ever say that he didn’t have his back. But he remained silent and let Jace get out all his frustration, even if it was mistakenly pointed at him, and put him to bed. 

Magnus, however, had a vastly different world view. 

It was the first time Alec had coaxed Magnus out of the loft since he had lost his magic. The worry caused Alec near physical pain when he returned home from the Institute and found Magnus stretched over the couch where Alec had left him that morning. He was prepared for it by now but the sight didn’t hurt any less. 

He’d gently taken the martini glass from Magnus’ hand and gotten him to focus on Alec instead of the blank wall in front of him. It took an excessive amount of time to convince Magnus to go out with him that night. It wasn’t that Magnus was unwilling to go on a date night. Quite the contrary, Magnus had looked initially excited at the prospect but then it quickly sunk in that that meant leaving the loft and suddenly his face dropped. After a bit of coaxing, he’d managed to convince Magnus that they ought to go out just for a bit. 

Magnus had been tense when they arrived at the restaurant but he seemed to relax as the night wore on, leaning into the familiar feeling of being out with Alec. It was a welcome change, to see him smiling and laughing rather than crying on the couch when he thought Alec couldn’t hear. 

They’d been on the way home. The night had been so close to perfect. Alec had wrapped an arm around Magnus’ shoulder and pulled him close, smiling when Magnus had leaned into him as they walked. They’d been wrapped in a warm glow for the first time in weeks. 

Then the man had gotten in front of them. He was tall, as tall as Alec, and broad. The tattoos snaking up and down his bulging biceps did little to make him less intimidating. Alec wasn’t frightened by the sight of him but he was vaguely unnerved as his instincts told him to prepare for whatever was about to happen. He was a trained fighter and even if this man was bigger than him, if he tried to hurt them he’d regret it. Alec still unconsciously pulled Magnus closer and slightly behind him, taking a protective stance. 

“Fuckin’ disgusting.” The man spat at their feet. “You queers are getting all too comfortable out in this city.” He sneered at them in a challenging manner and Alec tightened his grip on Magnus as he felt him try to surge forward. 

The man laughed, “Fuckin’ fairy wearing makeup is gonna try to fight me. Too bad your boyfriend has more sense.” He spat out boyfriend like it was a swear and suddenly, Alec didn’t feel quite so inclined to hold Magnus back as anger blossomed in his stomach that someone would dare speak to Magnus like that. 

Alec had punched the man before he knew what was happening. He didn’t put his full weight into the punch, knowing he could very well kill the man, but still sent him staggering back with blood gushing from his nose. 

“What the fuck.” The man yelled, looking dazed but turning red with anger as he surged forward. 

Alec prepared to take whatever was going to be thrown at him but he didn’t have to as Magnus suddenly got in front of him and gave a solid kick to the man’s chest that sent the wind out of him in a firm gush and the man to the ground with a solid thud. Their little victory was dampened as Alec caught sight of Magnus flexing his hands, seemingly unconsciously, in the manner that used to bring them to life with sparks. He didn’t have time to dwell on it as Magnus grabbed the man by his shirt and had wound up a punch when Alec gently placed a hand on Magnus’ elbow. 

“He’s not worth it.” Alec said, eyeing how the man suddenly looked significantly more unsure of his chances, his entire front stained with freshly dripping blood. 

Magnus let out a sharp breath and scoffed but pulled the man close, hissing, “Hopefully this taught you a lesson about harassment. And I’m not a fucking fairy.” He shoved the man back to the ground and grabbed Alec’s hand, stalking away in the direction they’d originally been heading. 

Alec was quiet for a bit as Magnus glowered in anger next to him. The entire exchange had been upsetting, of course, but Magnus seemed to be taking it more to heart than Alec, having to pile this on top of the misery he’d already been going through. 

They’d made it the short walk back to the apartment when Alec finally spoke. “That was a good kick.” He offered. 

Magnus stared at the ground as they stopped in front of the door, not yet taking out his keys. For a moment, Alec was afraid he would cry but a small, wry smile suddenly cracked on his face and he started to laugh, starting out in more of an ironic scoff but then dissolving into true laughter that Alec hadn’t gotten to hear in so long. 

“What’s so funny?” Alec couldn’t help but grin, his heart lightening at the sight of Magnus so happy. 

“I don’t know I just- I think I needed that.” Magnus smiled, wiping a stray tear from his eye as he finally looked back up at Alec. 

“To beat the hell out of a stranger?” 

“I think I had some built up tension. And he wasn’t a stranger. He was a homophobe.” 

Alec snorted but reached behind Magnus and pulled the keys out of his back pocket, letting them into the apartment as Magnus protested that he could have done it. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't forget to leave a comment!


	24. Waterlogged - Alt. Prompt - Day 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me writing whumptober: can i get uhhhhhhhhhhhhh demon venom?

The irony of the situation was that Alec was a very good swimmer. The best of his siblings, actually. 

He felt panic tightening his chest as he sunk lower and the light of the surface grew further and further away. Alec frantically tried to kick or move his arms or do  _ anything  _ but the burning slash across his chest that had ripped fully through his gear was a painful reminder of the venom coursing through his body with each heartbeat and restricting his ability to move. It was getting harder to hold his breath and his lungs spasmed, fighting against the poison and water in desperate need of air, but only succeeded in bringing in a lungful of seawater that Alec tried to cough out but couldn’t. 

He wondered faintly, suddenly oddly calm, how long it would take for him to sink. He knew ship ports weren’t as deep as they looked but it felt as though he had been falling forever and the sun above was beginning to look very far away. He felt his eyes begin to slide closed but made little effort to stop it as a shadow came over his vision. 

The next thing he knew, he was on his back against the hardwood of the dock he’d been thrown off of, sinus’ and lungs burning as he coughed and sputtered up mouthfuls of salty water. It felt wrong, though, like each cough was only at half capacity. His limbs still felt painfully tight and as he coughed, he remained awkwardly flat against the doc rather than arching into each spasm of his lungs. 

His eyes were shut with the effort of clearing his lungs but he felt the cold touch of a blade against his skin as his shirt was cut off and a pair of warm hands ran over the wound in his stomach. Alec hissed in pain and tried to get away from the probing fingers but found himself paralyzed still. 

After a minute though, when he’d finally stopped coughing long enough to open his eyes, he found Magnus hovering above him, looking anxious but determined. The familiar comforting warmth of Magnus’ magic seeped in through the open wound and seemed to pour into each cell of his body as the unnatural tension slowly drained, leaving Alec to flex the muscles in his arms and legs as movement came back to him. He coughed hard now, scrambling to sit up as he cleared his lungs and spit out brackish water. 

The effort left him gasping but a hand clapped him firmly on the back and sent the last of the water out of him and he was left completely drained of energy. He looked around almost frantically, taking in his surroundings. 

Magnus was knelt at his side and staring angrily at Jace, who stood close by, arms held up defensively as he explained, “We were here to fight demons that had been killing dock workers and Alec got cornered on a pier. There had been more than we’d expected and there’d been too many to fight off by himself but we were in the same situation and I guess one of them got a lucky shot and sent him into the water. We didn’t know he’d gotten infected with the venom so we thought he would just come back up but- it’s a paralytic so-” Jace fumbled, looking increasingly guilty. 

“Not their fault.” Alec rasped out, sending him into a coughing fit as he wrapped his arms around himself. It had suddenly hit him how cold it was, laying out half naked and soaked to the bone in the middle of fall, and he was shivering aggressively as his body tried to warm itself. 

Magnus’ attention had snapped to Alec as he spoke and, seeing his shivering, snapped him dry and conjured a blanket to drape around his shoulders. 

“You two are lucky I get places so quickly. What if I hadn’t been able to come and he’d died, drowned in the Hudson of all places? Could you imagine a worse way to die?” Magnus scolded Isabelle and Jace, fussing with the blanket and tightening it around Alec and rubbing his arms to warm him up. 

Jace began to say something snippy but Isabelle elbowed him in the ribs, prompting him to shut his mouth. 

“Thank you.” The words came out weak and soft, sounding like Alec had smoked three packs a day since childhood, but they still ended Magnus’ angry rant as he looked at Alec and his eyes softened. 

“You don’t have to thank me.” Magnus’ voice was gentle and he pulled Alec into a warm, firm hug. Alec’s shivering hadn’t stopped and, despite being outwardly dry, he still felt like he was waterlogged. All his sinus’ felt like they’d been washed out and burned with the remaining salt water. 

When Magnus released him, Jace knelt and took Alec’s arm, drawing an iratze. It soothes his raw throat and sinus’ and would prevent him from a horrible infection brought on by whatever bacteria brewed in the water but it couldn’t do much for the water that remained in him. 

Magnus would whisk him home, dramatic and insistent that Alec should be done for the day and it was only a few hours until he would have come home anyway and Alec would spend the rest of the night coughing up and spitting out foul tasting water. And yet, it was hard to feel bad about his near death experience with Magnus fussing and fretting over him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't forget to leave a comment!


	25. * "Wake up!" - Alt. Prompt - Day 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really love how this one came out and I hope you do too! I did something a little different with the prompt ;)

“Alexander, I’m not so sure this is the best idea…” Magnus trailed off, regretfully letting go of Alec’s hand as they stepped through the portal onto the steps of the Institute, wishing not for the first time that his boyfriend’s culture was less, well, homophobic. 

“I’m alright. I just want to grab a few things.” Alec insisted but made no move to walk in, seemingly steeling himself against it. 

“I could have just used magic.” Magnus scanned Alec’s face for any hint of compromise but found none, glancing down to where Alec was anxiously twisting the sleeves of his shirt in his fingers. 

“I want to see Jace and Isabelle too.” Alec said quickly, looking pleadingly back to Magnus. 

Bandages still stuck out around the collar and wrists of Alec’s shirt and the sight made Magnus’ heart ache but worse yet was the look Alec was giving him. Magnus knew Alec wanted so badly for things to just go back to how they had been before and coming to the Institute was part of it. Alec had been through so much, how could he possibly deny him this small comfort? The problem lies just beyond the doors, in the Shadowhunter’s reception of their wounded warrior. He’d barely been back at the loft for four days, finally released from the infirmary, and there was no way Alec’s co-workers wouldn’t stare as he limped through their hallowed walls. 

Magnus didn’t reply, only reaching out to gently squeeze Alec’s hand one last time before Alec gave him a small smile, put on his leader persona, and march through the cathedral doors. 

Magnus thanked the gods above that they’d managed to come at a time when the Institute was relatively empty. The majority of Shadowhunters would be hard at work, on patrol or working with data, leaving very few to mill about and stare as they walked past. 

A big part of the reason Magnus was nervous about Alec coming back so soon was that his trauma was so fresh and raw and his emotions ran higher than they likely ever had as he struggled to adjust back to normal life. He cried at the drop of a hat and the wrong words or action could send him into a sobbing fit as he pleaded not to be hurt. Magnus had gotten used to it, or as used to regularly seeing his beloved cry for his life as he possibly could, and knew what to avoid but the Shadowhunter’s wouldn’t. Alec would only hate himself if something upset him here in front of all his esteemed peers. Magnus knew that wasn’t the kind of environment a healing mind should be in but it was equally important that Alec recognize his new-found autonomy and if that meant going to the Institute before he was ready, Magnus would follow him there and remain until the end. 

All was relatively well and some of the tension had begun to drain out of Magnus’ shoulders as they headed through a series of winding paths that would eventually deposit them in the living quarters where Alec and his sibling’s rooms were situated. Lying just before them, though, were a cluster of offices that included that of Alec’s parents. 

All the tension immediately snapped back into Magnus as he heard Maryse Lightwood call out to her eldest son. 

“Alexander! I was wondering when you would be returning from your… vacation from the Institute.” 

Magnus watched as Alec immediately tensed and straightened into the soldier’s rest that Magnus had worked so hard to relax him out of. Anxiety bloomed in Magnus’ stomach as he watched Alec open his mouth to respond and immediately shut it before turning and entering his mother’s office with an efficiency obviously meant to hide the growing tremble of his fingers. 

“I was just visiting to see how everything was running. I’m not- I’m haven’t been cleared to return to active duty yet.” Alec folded his hands behind him. Magnus hovered in the doorway, praying this exchange would be short, and it didn’t escape him when Alec began to rub at the bandaged circling his wrists in his newest nervous habit. 

Maryse scoffed and anger bloomed in Magnus’ stomach as she said, “Haven’t been cleared? You’re right as rain. If you wanted time off you should have asked for it. Think of how this makes all of us look that you were gone for months and you don’t even return to work when you come back.” 

There it was. The tell-tale tensing of Alec’s jaw that prevented his lower lip from wobbling as he tried to bite back tears. Magnus could count on one hand the number of times he’d seen Alec cry before all of this happened and now? This was the second time this morning. Not that Magnus blamed him in any way, this was only a natural response to what he’d been through, but it was hard to see him so constantly on the edge. 

Alec didn’t respond for a moment and Magnus knew it was because he was struggling to compose himself enough to speak without his voice cracking but his mother interrupted before he had a chance. “Really, Alexander, if anything you should be picking up more patrols and missions to make up for it.” She chastised, setting down the report she’d been holding. “You aren’t even going to do anything today? What was the point of showing your face?” 

Anger skyrocketed into hot rage as Magnus opened his mouth to say something, standing from his position of leant against the doorway, but Alec choked out, “I’ll do better.” 

No, no,  _ no _ . 

Magnus knew he meant it and now his poor beloved boy who should have been at home recovering was going to be pushing himself into more and more situations he physically and mentally wasn’t ready for all because of an ignorant comment. 

“That’s all I expect, really.” Maryse finished with the air of having grounded a child for not cleaning their room, picking back up the report she had previously been reading through. 

Alec nodded sharply and turned, face strained with the effort of keeping back tears. Magnus extended an arm as Alec hurried towards the door, ghosting it over his back as he ushered him out. Alec began to rush towards the direction of his room but Magnus stopped. 

“I’ll be right there, sweetheart, I just remembered I had an important message for Maryse. I need to give it to her before she leaves.” Magnus lied. It hurt to watch Alec nod slowly, obviously upset to be apart, but he couldn’t leave without doing this. He watched Alec turn and hurry away, chest physically aching when he noticed that Alec had rubbed his wrists raw and a red stain was beginning to creep into the bandages. 

Magnus forced himself to turn away and stalked back into Maryse’ office, meaning to shut the door magically but accidentally slamming it as his magic lashed out, making Maryse jump and look at him in an accusatory manner. 

“Have you lost your mind?” Magnus all but yelled. 

“Excuse m-” Maryse stood from her desk sharply but Magnus continued. 

“You read the reports, you saw him when we brought him back, you know well as I do what happened to him! How can you possibly be so heartless? To your child of all people?” Magnus fumed, forcing himself to take a breath as stray magic sparked from his fingers, dancing across the ground before fizzling out. 

Maryse took the opportunity to interject, “I know you two are involved but you do not get to lecture me on my own son, Magnus Bane.” She hissed, pausing and spitting out ‘involved’ as though it were a curse. “He is a Shadowhunter. He was raised as one and he will act as one. His training-”

“I don’t give a damn about his training! His training prepared him for fighting and strategy not being tortured, assaulted, and worse for months on end! And I do think that being ‘involved’ with him gives me the right to lecture you about him,” Magnus retorted, spitting out involved with the same venom, “because you’re not there at night when he has nightmares and wakes up begging for me not to hurt him! You’re not there when I change his bandages and he can’t even look at me for the next hour! You read the reports but you haven’t listened to him talk about what that monster did to him!” Magnus forced himself to reign back, knowing it wasn’t his place to expose all of Alec’s pain. “You can’t even begin to imagine how much he’s hurting and on top of that beating himself up over “allowing this to happen” and not being back at the Institute already. You know why he isn’t? Me. Because I actually care about him unlike everyone here it seems and I want what’s best for him and right now that’s healing not putting more stress on him when he’s already at the breaking point!”

They were both quiet for a moment as Magnus reigned himself back, taking a breath before continuing in a far calmer tone, “You forget that we have known each other for a very long time, Maryse, and I remember a young woman who never could have been this cruel. You wanted a fair and just Shadowhunter society didn’t you? Well guess what? Wake up, Maryse, because that woman has grown up and she’s inflicting the same cycles of cruelty on her son that needs her now more than ever.” His tone was cold and unflinching but Magnus saw the first inklings of shame seep into the corner’s of Maryse’s expression. 

He wasn’t sure if Maryse attempted to respond as he spun around and stalked out the door, knowing he needed to leave before he snapped and set the room ablaze. Besides, Alec needed him and that was more important than telling off his hateful family. He followed the familiar path down to Alec’s room and forced himself to take a few breaths before knocking quietly. Alec needed him to be calm. Bursting in brimming with fury would only scare him. 

Magnus heard a quiet, “Come in” and gently opened the door. He found Alec sitting in the dark on the edge of his messy bed, clutching a wad of toilet paper in both hands. Alec glanced up, giving Magnus the chance to take in his miserable, teary expression before dropping his gaze back to his hands. 

Magnus shut the door silently as crossed the floor to sit by Alec, who wiped the last of the tears from his face with the tissue paper, moving to lean his head on Magnus’ shoulder. They sat in silence for a bit, the bustle of the Institute seeming far away, before Alec cleared the tears from his throat quietly and asked, “What did you need to talk to my mom about?” 

Magnus pressed a firm kiss to Alec’s hair and settled an arm around him in the manner he’d figured out wouldn’t jostle any of the injuries criss crossing his back. “Nothing you need to worry about.” 

Alec was clearly dissatisfied with this answer but didn’t pursue a better one. 

“You do know that she’d just parroting the Clave when she says you should be back here and that you really shouldn’t be, right?” Magnus asked warily. 

Alec waited a moment before responding with a soft, “I know.” He was quiet a bit longer before following up with, “It’s hard to ignore it though, when it follows what I’ve been trained to do from birth. Ignore everything and push through.  _ Lex dura sed lex _ .” 

“Well, I’m pretty hard to ignore if I do say so myself.” Magnus peppered kisses all over Alec’s hair and then face until a genuine smile cracked through his morose expression. “Come on sweetheart, let’s get your wrists fixed up and then there’s a movie marathon back at the loft that won’t watch itself. I’m sure Chairman would be more than happy to join us.” 

Alec’s smile was the brightest thing he’d seen in weeks.   
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't forget to leave a comment! All are welcome.


	26. Hiding - Alt. prompt -  Day 26

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I kind of hate this one but I guess that's karma for yesterday's being good lmao

“Alexander? Dinner’s ready whenever you are.” Magnus called, knocking softly on the bathroom door. 

Alec had been in the shower for an unnatural amount of time and Magnus had heard the water turn off around an hour ago. It was only natural to sometimes want some time apart when you lived with someone but Magnus was growing increasingly worried with the amount of time Alec seemed to be spending isolating himself lately. 

Magnus began to turn away from the door when he heard a soft sniffle from behind the door. His heart broke at the idea of Alec crying alone in the bathroom but he still hesitated before knocking softly again. He knew Alec must have a reason for being alone but he still couldn’t bear the thought of his beloved boy suffering by himself and thinking Magnus wasn’t there to support him. 

“Alexander? Could I come in, sweetheart?” He asked softly. 

After a moment, Magnus heard another soft sniffle and a faint, “yeah.”

He opened the door slowly and found Alec sitting on the bathroom floor in his underwear, dripping as though he hadn’t bothered to dry off, and furiously rubbing at his eyes. 

Magnus’ heart broke as he watched Alec, obviously trying to hide his tears. “What’s wrong, darling?” He asked gently, moving to sit on the floor with his leg pressed against Alec’s, leaning back against the counter. 

Alec shook his head silently but leaned his head against Magnus’ shoulder, a non-verbal acceptance of his offer of comfort. 

Magnus wrapped an arm around Alec and kissed his hair, hearing another muffled sniffle. 

“It’s alright, I’ve got you.” He whispered against Alec’s hair, infusing magic in his words that had the excess water dripping off Alec dry in a matter of moments. 

Alec pressed closer to him now, his head still ducked, and let Magnus cuddle against him. 

Magnus knew something must have been happening at the Institute. Alec seemed to always be morose when he came home lately. Magnus couldn’t help but feel a bit hurt at first that Alec didn’t want to talk to him about whatever was going on but he forced himself to put that aside. He knew the culture Alec was raised in and if he didn’t want to talk about it, that was fine. At least he would let Magnus be near him. If helping him came in the form of sitting on the bathroom floor, surrounded by puddles of water from the remnants of Alec’s shower as dinner got cold in the other room, Magnus would gladly choose it anyday over Alec going through it alone. 


	27. Broken Voice - Alt. Prompt - Day 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, not much to say except I liked how this chapter came out and I hope you do too!

Part of Magnus wished he could fall asleep. It would certainly make his bedside vigil speed up. On the other hand, he knew he couldn’t possible tear his eyes away from Alec’s labored breathing, afraid that he might look away and miss his last. 

Everything had happened so quickly at first. He woke up to a call at six am and begrudgingly answered the phone, waking immediately at the urgency in Isabelle’s voice. She’d been in too much of a panic to explain what happened but Magnus had caught that Alec had been hurt. Really hurt. 

He’d portaled to the Institute immediately, barely bothering to dress himself, just in time to catch a glimpse of Alec. He was laying on a gurney, seemingly unconscious with just a sheet covering his lower half. What took Magnus’ breath away was that he was pale as a sheet save for a bloody gash across his chest that black veins seemed to be spreading from. 

He’d tried to rush towards him, eyes already flooding with tears but Isabelle had caught him, insistent that they needed to go into surgery immediately or he wouldn’t make it. Magnus didn’t hear anything she said to him, overcome with an almost painful buzzing in his ears that screamed that his beloved boy was going to die and he wasn’t allowed to do anything about it. Later he would be told that a piece of a demon’s claw had snapped off inside him but at the time, Magnus had gone deaf to the world as he sunk to his knees, watching the doors shut behind Catarina and the Shadowhunter doctor as they wheeled Alec away. 

Then the waiting began. The surgery itself only took two hours but may as well have lasted Magnus’ lifetime as he waited, near hysterics, for Catarina to come out and tell them if Alec would make it or not. After that, they’d insisted Alec, despite still being fully unconscious, needed time to recover from the invasive surgery and none of them would be allowed in the room for the next few hours. Magnus wasn’t sure if he or Jace lunged for the door first anyway but it didn’t matter because both were immediately stopped by Isabelle and Catarina. 

Then finally,  _ finally _ , they’d allowed them in. As Magnus and the siblings rushed into the room, you could have heard a pin drop as they took in the sight of Alec, unconscious with stiff, white bandages wrapped firmly around his chest. 

It was nearly 9 pm now. Jace and Isabelle had been expected to give painfully detailed reports of how this had happened and then to return to their regularly scheduled patrols. The siblings had thrown a fit, insistent that they needed to remain with their brother but in the end, they’d been forced away on the grounds that Magnus would remain by Alec’s side until they returned. Anyway, Catarina had warned sternly that there was no way of telling how Alec would react when he woke up and that it would be best to only have one person in the room in case he had a negative reaction. 

Magnus hadn’t bothered to check the clock in hours, focused instead on carefully watching Alec’s breathing and expression and comfortingly rubbing his thumb up and down Alec’s limp knuckles. 

The adrenaline of the day had worn off long ago and even with the desperate fear of losing Alec still ever present, Magnus found his eyes slipping shut and his head lolling forward. The first few times, he’d shook himself awake but soon found himself slipping again. This time, though, he suddenly woke to movement. 

Magnus’ head snapped up from where he’d been resting it on Alec’s bed, next to his hand, and watched anxiously as Alec’s face crumpled in discomfort and he squirmed a bit, still unconscious.

Magnus held his breath as Alec’s eyes slowly blinked open and immediately squinted shut, seemingly against the bright fluorescent light, before his face contorted in agony and a weak noise left him as his hand came up on instinct to his chest. 

Magnus quickly took his hand, encouraging it away from the wound, and Alec’s eyes flickered open before quickly shutting again as he struggled with consciousness. Eventually, his eyes seemed to focus weakly on Magnus. 

“M’gnus.” Alec slurred out, face flushing with the effort of pushing through the pain. 

“I’m right here, sweetheart, everything’s alright.” Magnus soothed, rubbing over Alec’s knuckles and palms in the manner that always soothed him. 

This time though, Alec only tried to pull his hands away, too weak to succeed. Magnus held tight, afraid he would further injure himself since he seemed too delirious to know not to pull at his bandages. 

“Wh’re’s M’gnus?” Alec tried again, his voice broken but insistent before he cried out in pain, face contorting. Magnus froze when he heard that, feeling utterly helpless. Alec was too out of it to even realize who was in front of him. 

Whenever Alec was hurt, he always worked so hard to put on the veneer of Shadowhunter bravado and tough it out but he was too far gone for that now, seeming to give in to the pain as another agonized wail pulled itself from Alec’s throat, tears beginning to fall. He’d never seen Alec even close to this state before and, as broken pleas of Magnus’ name pulled out from between pained cries, Magnus’ mind seemed to go utterly blank as panic began to take over. 

The only thing he could think to do was call Catarina, and even though it physically pained him, Magnus let go of Alec to rush into the hallway. 

Catarina, more accustomed to this sort of situation and having the added advantage of not being romantically involved with the person writhing in pain in front of them, was far more clear headed. As they entered the room once more, she hurried to Alec’s side and placed a gently cupped Alec’s face with one blue hand. Alec twisted away at first before leaning into the touch and a light purple glow flowed from her hand as Alec went still once more, falling back into a blissful unconsciousness. 

Magnus remained frozen for a moment as Catarina removed her hand from Alec’s face, letting his head settle back onto the pillow. She looked up at Magnus sympathetically, “I’m sorry that happened. I put him back under so his body gets a while longer to recover before trying to wake back up. He should be calmer next time he wakes up.”

Magnus took in the information but all he could say was, “He didn’t know I was here. He asked for me.” 

“He was delirious. Between the pain from the surgery and his body trying to deal with the venom, he probably had no idea what was happening.” Catarina had moved to Magnus’ side of the bed to place a hand on her old friend’s back. Magnus didn’t feel it.

“He won’t be awake til the morning. Try to get some rest, alright?” 

Magnus barely heard it as she left, leaving him to sink back into his chair as his knees turned to jello, all the adrenaline leaving him in a single rush. All he could do now was wait. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't forget to leave a comment!


	28. Beaten - Day 28

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe October is almost over already. It'll be weird not doing this everyday. Anyway, hope you like this chapter!

Magnus was going to be mad at him. 

Somehow, that was the only coherent thought that managed to push through the haze of pain clouding Alec’s mind. He was sure he had walked a mile at this point but hadn’t stopped, hadn’t allowed himself to rest because he knew that if he did, he wouldn’t be able to get back up. However, as Alec arrived at Magnus’ door, suddenly the blood loss seemed to overtake him and the world spun violently on its axis, sending Alec to his knees. 

He cradled his arm close to his chest in a weak effort to protect it in case he ended up fully on the ground and Alec had to grit his teeth to hold back a scream as his broken bones seemed to grind against each other. The rudimentary sling made of Jace’s ripped shirt was doing a poor job of protecting it. 

His whole body ached with a ferocity but his arm was the worst by far. Alec was in the middle of simultaneously struggling to get up while keeping down his stomach contents as the pain threatened to overwhelm him when the door flew open, revealing Magnus. His expression immediately twisted in worry as he took in the sight of Alec, bruised and bloody, on his knees. 

“What  _ happened _ to you?” Magnus gushed as he reached down to help Alec stand, thankfully noticing the sling and holding onto Alec’s good arm instead. 

“You should see the demons.” Alec tried to joke but it came out feeble as standing made him woozy. 

Magnus made a protesting noise, chastising him, and carefully helped him inside. “You’re lucky my wards let me know someone was here because it doesn’t look like you were going to be able to get to the door anytime soon.” 

Alec didn’t respond, afraid that it wouldn’ be words coming out of his mouth if he opened it to speak. Thankfully, Magnus settled him on the couch and snapped him clean of ichor and blood so he could better see what was wrong. 

“Arm’s broken, really broken.” Alec managed through grit teeth, eyes squeezed shut. Suddenly, he was magically freed of his shirt and sling and Magnus’ sharp intake of breath prompted him to open his eyes again and properly survey the damage. He was met with the sight of his humerus sticking out through his skin. Alec wasn’t a squeamish person by any means but the sight of his own bone still made him light headed and he shut his eyes once more. “Iratze won’t work ‘til it’s back in place.” 

“Oh, Alexander.” He heard Magnus sigh in obvious distress. “Alright, let’s do this quickly before you lose more blood. Bite down on this.” 

Alec opened his eyes to find Magnus handing him a rag. He did as told, putting it between his teeth and biting down, steeling himself against the coming pain. 

Magnus didn’t give him any warning before using his magic to force the bone back into place. A muffled scream tore from Alec’s throat and he was sure he would pass out but then Magnus’ cool hands wrapped around his bicep and the pain faded away. Alec was left wheezing for breath and sweating as his body slowly realized that everything was where it belonged once more. 

Then Magnus was pressing a neon blue drink into his hands and he drank it as told. Suddenly realizing his incredible thirst, faintly hearing Magnus say something about tiding him over. 

“Will you be alright if I go make something for the blood loss?” Magnus asked, worry creasing his face as he surveyed Alec, who weakly slumped into a lying position on the couch. 

“You’re just across the room.” Alec replied, giving a ghost of a smile despite his growing dizziness. 

“Don’t pass out on me, yet. I’ll be quick.” Then Magnus was gone, bustling about the room as he ground powders and mixed a concoction. Alec found it harder and harder to follow Magnus’ words as black spots danced in the corners of his vision and he was already laying down, it would be so easy to just…

But then Magnus was at his side once more and a warm mug that felt like fire against Alec’s clammy skin was being pressed to his lips. He drank the bitter liquid without question and suddenly, the black spots seemed to be receding. He still felt incredibly weak but was now secure in the idea that he wasn’t about to pass out. 

“Better?” Magnus asked, setting aside the cup. 

“Much. Thank you. Sorry for showing up on your door step half dead.” Alec suppressed a smile, reaching out to stroke over Magnus’ cheek. 

“You know you’re always welcome here, although preferably fully alive.” Magnus replied with a smile of his own, seeming just as exhausted as Alec now that the adrenaline had drained out of the situation. 

Alec’s eyes slowly slid shut of their own accord and he felt Magnus’ feather light touch brushing over him in various places. He wanted to protest as he realized Magnus was healing a bruise here, a cut there that he was fine now and not to waste any more magic on him, but he found the words too far away and before he knew it, he’d slipped into blissful sleep. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't forget to leave a comment!


	29. *Numb - Day 29

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm proud of this one! It's probably the last or next to last part of this mini-series of whumptober but I may end up adding more little drabbles onto it in a separate fic after october is over because I've gotten so attached. Anyway, hope you like it!

He should have been asleep hours ago. Alec had grown so accustomed to Magnus’ presence as he slept that now, without him, he felt watched and painfully alone. Jace and Isabelle had looked so happy when he’d mentioned spending the night at the Institute that Alec couldn’t bear to disappoint them. He’d been distant, not just physically but emotionally and he knew his siblings missed him. 

Yet, they were asleep in the rooms next door. He was cold but not for the air in the room. It was the sort of cold that started inside and seeped into his bones until he trembled but couldn’t ward it away. The kind that crept up the back of his throat and made him feel like he was going to scream. He’d tossed and turned until every inch of the bed was hot and damp with his sweat and yet, the oppressive chill remained. 

Alec thought numbly that maybe if he could just stop thinking, he’d be able to sleep. His bodily injuries were in the late stages of healing but each seemed to ache with a phantom pain that throbbed with each disembodied sentence that swung through his mind. 

“ _ Shut up. I’ll give you something to scream about.”  _

“ _ You don’t look so high and mighty on your hands and knees, Shadowhunter.” _

_ “Oh look, I made him cry. Guess you’re not all as tough as you act.” _

_ “Every time you scream, you only make it worse for yourself. So go on, keep it up.” _

A phantom whip seemed to trail teasingly across his shoulders as it had so many times, a promise of agony to come, as Alec curled in tighter on himself, desperately wishing for Magnus’ soothing presence. As the voices and the touches seemed to grow louder and harsher, the cold in his bones grew almost painful and yet, he couldn’t move, couldn’t cry, couldn’t  _ breathe _ . 

Before he knew what was happening, Alec was scrambling to his feet, struggling with the sheets that wrapped around him oppressively, tangling and seeming to cut into his skin as he desperately tried to escape. The only thought in his mind was that he needed to get out, needed to leave this tiny room that felt colder with each passing second and be somewhere open. 

As he sprinted through the dark, looming halls of the Institute, he thought faintly of what Magnus has told him before he left for the night. 

_ Call if you need me, sweetheart. I’ll be right there. _

Magnus had kissed him, then, and smiled in a manner that seemed to barely mask the sadness and worry growing beneath it. 

But then he was on the roof and suddenly everything changed. Despite the thin layer of snow growing on the ground and Alec’s thin nightclothes, the painful cold had left him and had been replaced with… nothing. He stood in the doorway entrance, staring out at the rooftop balcony and the distant skyline, frozen for a moment as he struggled with his emotions. 

The cold was gone but the desperate, all-consuming panic filled his chest and threatened to crawl up his throat, though if it would expose itself as a scream or vomit, he wasn’t sure. His feet were moving and he found himself in front of the punching bag Jace had dragged up to the roof when they were teens, insistent that fresh air would do them well while training. 

Then his hands were curled and his legs in a familiar stance as the sound of skin on vinyl rang in his ears. Each punch didn’t bring the comforting weight and feeling he had been craving and he curled his hands a little tighter, tucked his thumbs, curled his knuckles a little more, and _ there _ it was. 

The first drops of blood began to smear across the yellowing bag as each hit sent snow shaking off. The first shocks of blunt, hot pain, rang up through his bones and Alec relished in the feeling. 

Suddenly hands, _ real _ hands, were grabbing at his arms and shoulders and Alec didn’t realize he’d been screaming until he stopped and his throat ached with overexertion. He was pulled away from the bag, falling backward onto the ground sobbing, as Jace’s words began to break through the ringing in his ears. 

“-sy, easy, Alec. It’s alright, just breathe.” 

Cold began to seep back into him but now, it wasn’t a result of echoing threats but rather the snow wetting and seeping into his thin sweatpants as the frozen concrete pressed against him. Alec curled his knees up and cradled his hands to his chest, only now realizing how painful it was to have broken open the barely healed gashes just under his knuckles. 

After a moment, listening to Jace’s steady reassurances and feeling the weight of his parabatai’s hand on his back, his breathing began to even out but try as he might, he couldn’t stem the tears that continued to overflow and the sobs that burst from his chest every few moments. 

He heard Magnus’ name come from above him and pried open his eyes to see Jace, staring at him anxiously and holding a phone to his ear. 

“-something felt wrong and I found him beating the hell out of himself and a punching bag. He’s calmed down but he can’t stop crying. You have to come, he needs you.” 

Before Jace even put down the phone, Alec felt a rush of air from behind him and was suddenly surrounded by the familiar smell of sandalwood and mint as well as a steady pair of arms. Alec sunk into the embrace without question and turned so he could wrap his arms around Magnus and fist at the back of his shirt. 

He could hear Magnus and Jace talking but it sounded far away as he focused on Magnus’ warm, firm body close against his reminding him that he was safe. Everything was ok. 

“-back to the loft tonight and, easy darling, it’s alright. What happened?” Magnus said worriedly as Alec pulled away just enough to rub at his eyes. 

“I- I was cold and I could  _ hear _ him and I had to get out-” Alec choked on a harsh gasping breath and Magnus soothingly ran his fingers through his hair, letting him elan into the touch. 

“It’s alright, sweetheart, you’re safe. Blaise can’t hurt you or anyone else now, remember?” 

He did remember but he still cringed at the name. Magnus had been going out of his way to try to disconnect Alec from feeling forced to think of him as Sir but the name grated on Alec in ways Sir didn’t seem to. He nodded weakly and swallowed hard, his throat raw and aching. 

Alec vaguely realized he was shivering rather violently in his sweat-soaked nightclothes and Magnus seemed to notice as well because he kissed Alec’s hair one last time and said, “Come on, darling, let’s get inside. It’s too cold out here.” He helped Alec to his feet and ushered them inside. 

Back in the safety of Alec’s own room, with Alec’s dubious consent, Jace took his forearm, shirt sleeve pushed up to expose his iratze rune along with a myriad of fresh scars and scabs, and dragged his stele over the dark rune. Alec’s fingers itched as the fresh wounds knit back to their previous state of rough, heavy scabs. 

Alec broke the uneasy silence to say, “I want to stay here tonight.” His voice was weak and he had to stutter through the sentence but he knew he needed to get it out. He could control where he was and he needed to remember that. He’d promised his siblings to be close to them tonight and he knew that Jace would feel better after all this if he woke in the morning to find Alec, alive and well nearby. 

“Don’t stay on mine and Izzy’s account, we can see you later if you need to go back with Magn-” Jace started, hoving anxiously as Magnus and Alec sunk into seated positions on the bed. 

“I want to.” Alec repeated, voice stronger now as he looked up at Jace before turning his nervous gaze onto Magnus. “Stay?” He asked, softer. 

“Of course.” Magnus ran a hand up his back and Jace nodded, looking vaguely relieved as he bid them goodnight and slipped out of the room, shutting the door soundly behind him. 

Alec and Magnus crawled into the bed after Magnus had spelled them dry. It struck Alec how long he must have been on the rooftop as a bone-deep exhaustion sunk into him and he found the sheets to be cool and dry once more with him having not been there to warm them. 

He and Magnus faced each other in the bed, taking in each other’s presence and both seeming to search the other’s face for something. 

“Why didn’t you call?” Magnus asked softly, reaching out to stroke over Alec’s hair. 

“I don’t know. I- It all happened too fast.” Alec replied, feeling as though he would break their peaceful bubble and let the world back in if he spoke too loudly. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize. You couldn’t have done anything. I’m just glad you’re ok.” Magnus gave him a small smile and Alec couldn’t help but return it. The painful cold and numbness had left him now, promising to return another lonely night, but for now, all was well. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the comments!


	30. *Recovery - Day 30

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I went back and forth on what to do today since this whole thing has basically been recovery but I like how it turned out!

He didn’t have nightmares in the hospital. They said his body was too busy recovering from the trauma to plague him with terrors while he slept. Alec was grateful. Everything was already so painful and hard for the few hours he was awake each day that he couldn’t imagine having to suffer through it at night. 

So he didn’t think of it as a possibility. Alec took the first, unsteady steps of recovery as he slowly began to remain awake for more and more hours of the day until a few weeks later, he was sleeping normal hours. 

He’d been almost blindsided when they finally came. Alec had crawled into bed with Magnus early, around seven, when Alec had been too exhausted from the exertion and emotion of leaving the hospital and finally coming home. Home. Where he hadn’t been in half a year. 

The thought of nightmares didn’t even cross his mind as he clung to the comfort of slipping into Magnus’ luxurious silky sheets, still slightly damp from his bath. Magnus had stayed up, sitting up and reading, but promised to stay close. That was all Alec wanted, to be close to Magnus. Nothing could hurt him if Magnus was close. Everything was safe as long as long as he was surrounded by the warm smell of sandalwood and mint. 

Alec fell asleep immediately, barely able to keep his eyes open but relished in the feeling of the soft mattress and the cool sheets. He had to position himself carefully but after a bit of shuffling and wincing, he found a position he could lie in while still pressed up against Magnus’ thigh and without putting too much strain on any of his injuries. 

They didn’t form a scene at first but instead came in short sensory bursts that swam together and made Alec question whether they really were separate. 

The cold press of the concrete under his bare stomach. 

The stench of his own vomit, no longer able to be held back through the pain. 

_ “I like Shadowhunters so much more when they’re unable to speak.”  _

Then suddenly he was in the room again but this time the concrete walls seemed to be enclosing tighter and tighter as Alec panicked, unable to escape. There were no exits and the only door was perpetually locked, with magic no less. Even if it was unlocked, his wrists chained him to the wall and Alec could only scream as he was pushed incrementally and then faster and faster and the walls enclosed on all sides and-

Alec opened his eyes, sure he was dead, but only found the room back to how it always was. This time, though, Sir was standing at the top of the stairs leading from the door, no longer cracked and splintered from pressing against the opposite wall. Alec didn’t have time to relax before Sir stalked down the stairs and roughly grabbed him, fingers digging into fresh lashes on his bare back and forcing him to stand facing the wall, braced against it. Alec begged and desperately tried to squirm but his pleas only turned into screams as the first lashes of the wooden cane came down across his shoulders and then ribs and then hips. They came in a random pattern after that but a stray strike across the backs of his thighs sent him to the ground as his knees gave out. The strikes only came harder then as Alec screamed and begged that he couldn’t take anymore, unable to hear Sir’s threats over the ringing in his ears. 

But then a far more gentle touch was laid against his arm and Alec’s eyes were snapping open, broken pleas still tumbling from his lips as his body heaved with sobs. The only thing he could focus on was that his throat ached and he realized he must have been screaming but piece by piece the world came back to him. 

The smooth sheets glinting in the moonlight of the dark room. The bandages wrapped firmly around his middle, offering support to his healing ribs as he struggled to breathe. The warm, familiar presence next to him that was hovering over him anxiously. 

“Magnus,” Alec managed out, hiccuping in between sobs that seemed to wrack his whole body. He reached out, trying to focus on Magnus’ brilliant eyes and his dark green nightshirt, anything other than the burn across his back that echoed the pain from his dreams. Magnus said something but Alec could only see his lips move before he was wrapped in an embrace that surrounded him with warmth that was such a far cry from the cold concrete. He remained pressed there, trying to steady himself against the weight of the world. The only interruptions to Magnus’ soft murmurs that little by little began to break through the ringing to sooth Alec’s aching mind were the occasional whimpers of pain as Alec flinched away, pressing into his chest, when Magnus accidentally brushed over a lash, not yet healed over. 

Apologies tumbled from Magnus as he kissed Alec’s hair and quickly readjusted his arms. They remained like that until Alec’s sobs quieted into small hitches and gasps and Magnus softly asked, “Do you want to talk about it?”

“I-” Alec tried after a moment, but found he was utterly unable to force out  _ I was beaten. “ _ I was- ‘m just  _ scared.”  _ It was the best he could do. He wanted, desperately, to be able to tell Magnus what plagued him where he couldn’t follow but there was still the deep set fear that maybe, if Magnus knew what had happened to him, maybe he’d realize that Alec just wasn’t worth it. Scared seemed to encapsulate the loneliness and the panic that had welled deep in his bones over those long months and snapped as he dreamed, releasing their toxins into his bloodstream to course through his mind. 

“It’s alright. I’ve got you.” Magnus murmured into his hair and, while Alec knew that already, the words still seemed to sink into him with a comforting weight and he felt himself slowly come off the edge of panic and drop directly into exhaustion. “You’re safe, sweetheart.” 

Sweetheart. The name didn’t fail to make Alec’s heart quiver after so long without the safety and comfort of so much as a kind word. That was all he wanted, a soft word and a kind touch. 

He knew he couldn’t bear to fall back asleep and face the demons again but maybe, with Magnus close, he could believe and hold onto just for a bit the idea that maybe he was safe. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dont forget to leave a comment!


	31. +Embrace - Day 31

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At last, we're done! I really like how this chapter came out and I'm glad to resolve this mini-series happily. I hope you guys enjoyed whumptober because I loved it. I'll definitely be looking forward to doing it next year!

The white ceiling tiles stared resolutely back at him just as they had for the past two days. If he closed his eyes, Alec could almost believe that everything was normal. He and Magnus had been given private rooms in the Infirmary. Rooms plural. While the nearby bustle of the Institute seeped into his mind and soothed him with its familiarity, he couldn’t shake the every present fear in the back of his mind. 

Magnus hadn’t woken up yet. 

It wasn’t surprising that Alec woke first, just two days after they’d been rescued. He didn’t have any obvious injuries save for a poorly healed concussion that had been easily resolved with an iratze while he slept. The biggest problem was that he was severely dehydrated, undernourished, and utterly exhausted. 

Magnus hadn’t fared as well. In the days leading up to their rescue the scientists had been getting bolder, likely the reason they had been caught. First Magnus had tumbled back into their cell clutching his bandaged hands to his chest as he wheezed through the pain, barely able to grit out that they’d wanted to see if his magic was somehow stored in his hands. The next he’d come in delirious with drugs and bandages wrapped around his middle. He’d been too out of it to tell Alec what had happened but he could only presume they’d investigated his lack of a belly button. The day before rescue was the worst. He’d heard them coming down down the hall before he saw them. The hall was filled with the reverberations of Magnus desperate wails and Alec’s heart still clenched painfully as he remembered how his stomach dropped at seeing the white bandages wrapping around Magnus’ head, covering his eyes. 

They’d wanted to see his eyes. His beautiful golden cat eyes that he had taken so long to be brave enough to show Alec. 

The Shadowhunter doctors insisted that he would be alright and that they hadn’t done any major damage but still a cold fear crept into Alec’s stomach if he allowed himself to dwell on the possibilities for too long. 

Jace had said the scientists, rogue Shadowhunters, were being dealt with in the City of Bones but not even death seemed a fitting punishment to Alec for what they’d put Magnus through. He couldn’t let himself think about that for too long either. He couldn’t allow himself to think of their captivity much at all else his skin crawled and his stomach lurched. So he forced himself to focus on the bustle of the Institute. Soon enough, Jace and Isabelle should be waking up and they would come sit with him, releasing from duties this week to care for their brother and take his mind off the trauma he’d been put through. 

For now though, only the ceiling tiles were there for him. 

Alec had yearned to be with Magnus, even if he was unconscious. They’d been together for four months. Had it really been four months? For four months if Magnus wasn’t in his arms, it meant he was off somewhere being mutilated and traumatized and it was hard to shake himself from that line of thought when he woke up at night, alone and trembling.

He knew Magnus wouldn’t fare well when he woke up alone. He’d fought the Shadowhunters tooth and nail to be allowed in Magnus’ room but he was still weak from months of neglect and they’d forced him back with the promise of ‘you’ll be allowed in when he wakes up.’

So Alec waited. Under the promise he wouldn’t get out of bed until Magnus woke, he’d even been put on a mobile IV so that when Magnus did wake up, he was ready. 

The ceiling tiles grew hazy as he let his eyes unfocus and closed them, hoping maybe he could fall asleep until his siblings arrived so he wouldn’t have to think. He tried to focus on the sensations around him, reminding him he was home. The sheets were a bit scratchy but they were familiar. The press of the IV in his arm was anxiety-inducing at first but he had forced himself past that and now thought of it as simply a way to regain his strength since he wasn’t able to keep much food down. The air was warm and for the first time in so long, he wasn’t shivering. 

He’d been nearly asleep, listening to the faded sound of shoes on marble floors and hazy conversations when the screaming began. Painfully familiar screams that made his hair stand up and dragged back memories that made him physically ache. 

He sat up too quickly but didn’t give himself a moment for his head to stop spinning before he stood sharply. Immediately he found himself on his knees, the sharp tug of the IV in his arm the only grounding sensation amidst the screaming and his spinning vision. It was a desperate wail of Alec’s name that dragged him to his feet, stumbling towards the door as the world began to settle around him. Magnus’ door was open, as requested, but he pushed it aside to find a scene that made his stomach roll. 

Magnus was  _ sobbing,  _ pleading with the doctors holding him down by his arms and legs not to hurt him as he struggled weakly to get out of their grip. He didn’t seem to have noticed Alec yet, too preoccupied with desperately trying to escape the firm hold of the doctors, but his name was falling from Magnus’ mouth amidst pitiful heaves and Alec couldn’t breathe as he realized this was what he must have looked like everytime the scientists took him away. 

One of the doctors had turned her gaze on Alec and said, “Stay there until we get him under control.” 

Alec didn’t listen, gripping the stem of his IV for dear life as he hurried forward. “He doesn’t need to be under control he’s just scared, let go of him! I’ll get him calm, just get back.” 

The doctor looked at him for a moment and must have seen his desperation because she relayed the message to the others and they pulled away from him. Magnus immediately curled on his side, making an awful keening noise that barely sounded human. 

Alec rushed to his side and gently stroked over Magnus’ hair, damp with sweat, murmuring, “Hey, Magnus, darling, you’re safe. You’re in the Institute, they saved us.”

Magnus only curled tighter on himself, forcing out, “Not- Not real” in between heaving breaths. 

Alec continued to stroke over his hair despite his breaking heart. “It is, I promise. Can you open your eyes for me?” 

Magnus gave a pitiful whine in response but gentle coaxing from Alec eventually rewarded him with a pair of bloodshot, brown eyes. It made Alec’s heart ache to see Magnus’ glamored eyes as it was just another show of how utterly terrified his darling boy was. But Magnus’ eyes softened a bit at seeing Alec and, somehow combined with the touch, it seemed to break through the fear and Magnus’ hands, previously tightly clutched to his chest, flew out to grab Alec’s wrists and hold onto them like life lines. 

Alec smiled gently, trying to reassure him, “That’s right, everything’s alright.”

“Drugs?” Magnus forced out once more and his eyes flickered to where an IV was pressed into the back of his hand. 

“No, no, sweetheart it’s just because you’re dehydrated. You’re just getting fluids.” Alec reassured, gently taking Magnus’ hands and stroking over his wrists. 

“Lay with me?” Big rolling tears were still pouring down Magnus’s face and pooling in the crevice where his cheek met his nose. He didn’t even seem to be fully aware of what was going on, just that he was desperate for Alec’s kind touch. 

Alec’s gaze briefly flickered to the doctors, all still hovering nearby, far too close for comfort. Even through his utter focus on Magnus, there was still an uncomfortably prickly in the back of his mind that told him not to do something so intimate in the presence of others, Shadowhunters no less. He immediately forced aside the thought. How could he possibly deny Magnus the small comfort of a gentle touch after everything he’d been through? 

“Of course.” He stroked over Magnus’ hair one last time before carefully arranging his IV and climbing in next to Magnus. Magnus immediately pressed against him, settling on Alec’s chest, just as they had so many times in their cell and seemed to soothe. His hiccuping sobs quieted and his trembling eased as Alec rubbed over his back. Alec let out his own shuddering breath as Magnus fell back into unconsciousness. “He’s asleep again.” He breathed out. 

The doctor gave a slow nod. There seemed to be an unspoken ‘I told you so’ coming from Alec that neither would acknowledge. 

The doctor cleared her throat and shuffled through a stray paper momentarily before saying, “We’ll be back to check on him when he wakes up again. Perhaps you should… be there to keep him calm.” 

The doctors remained to check both Alec and Magnus’ IVs and Magnus’ injuries but soon left and Alec felt himself deflate with relief that they were finally alone once more. They’d been alone through so much and now, despite their safety, it only felt natural to be alone once more. 

As Magnus unconsciously wrapped his bandaged fingers in the cloth gown covering Alec’s chest, Alec couldn’t help but think about how they would move on from this. He continued to stroke over Magnus’ back and hair and found that he was suddenly just as tired. With Magnus securely back in his arms and his nose pressed against Magnus’ hair, he closed his eyes against the ceiling tiles and possibilities of the future and let himself slide back into sleep. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for all the support!


End file.
